Tennessee Valley Chapter of NDIA STEM Initiatives

1. Tennessee Valley Chapter of NDIASTEM Initiatives Bob Darnall Chapter President

2. Chapter Organization • Board of Directors • Space and Missile Defense Working Group (SMDWG) • Concentrates on Missile Defenseactivities • General Membership

3. Support for Kindergarten through Graduate School • STEDTRAIN • ACTE • UAH Science Fair • Adventures in Engineering • Undergraduate Scholarships • Graduate Fellowships

4. STEDTRAIN(Science & Technology, Education & Training) • Organization chartered under Huntsville Association of Technical Societies • Provides $200-$1000 Seed Grants to K-12 teachers for projects that would otherwise not be funded • Teachers submit grant requests in spring • Submissions are rank ordered • Money is distributed at the start of school year based on funding collected • Board members provide support/mentoring to teachers throughout the year • Teachers present results at spring conference

5. NDIA/TVC Participation • Major contributor for the past 6 years • Several Board members on STEDTRAIN Board and participate in both grant evaluations and mentoring of teachers

6. TEACHER PRESENTATIONS

7. What STEDTRAIN Seed Grant teachers say about the program: (Paraphrased) "K-12 teachers have almost no funds for hands-on science projects and hands-on has been shown to provide the best kinds of educational experiences. The STEDTRAIN Seed Grants make possible what otherwise could not be." "The best part of the Seed Grant was the extensive parental and community involvement. It is bringing the community together." "The children worked together as teams, each child contributing and each child learning from the others." "Some of our students are finding that their participation in the Seed Grant is helping their college applications. Now they can show research experience on their resumes."

8. ACTE • Science Fair for 5th-12th Grades • One day competition • NDIA/TVC is a significant source of judges • In past years we have provided Space Camp scholarships to winners

9. University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) Science Fair • High School Students participate at local University • NDIA/TVC sponsors the Physics Category • NDIA/TVC provides judges

10. Adventures in Engineering • Co-sponsored with Air, Space and Missile Defense Association (ASMDA) • One day “On Site” opportunity for High School Juniors and Seniors to see what Engineers do: • Breakfast at UAH with speaker • Visit multiple Government & Industry locations AM/PM • Lunch at U.S. Space & Rocket Center Museum

11. Undergraduate Scholarships • Scholarship money provided to local Universities • UAH and Alabama A&M University (AAMU) • Two $1000 Scholarships for each University • Increasing to four $1000 Scholarships per University for 2007/2008 • MOA with each University that defines areas of interest: • UAH – Industrial, SW, Elect, & Aero Eng • AAMU – EE, ME, Eng Tech, & Computer Science

12. Graduate Fellowships • $2000 each • US Citizen • Research must be in area supporting Space and/or Missile Technology • Emphasis on the Southeast – desire to attract good students to the Huntsville area • Seven awards this year – Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Auburn, UAH, Alabama

13. Summary • STEM: Not a new concept to the Tennessee Valley Chapter (TVC) • Several years ago we invited UAH head of Electrical & Computer Engineering Department to be on the Board • Resulted in increased interaction with Academia • NDIA/TVC President serves on UAH Industrial Advisory Board • UAH Board Member was logical choice as STEM Coordinator • STEM Initiatives have been well received – Never cancelled or curtailed and always increasing, subject to funds and volunteer availability • Direct impact on BRAC Decisions: 1995 & 2005 • Significant interaction and feedback between Educational Institutions and Employers/Workplace • TVC would be Happy to Host a STEM Conference/Symposium as soon as Practical