College of Southern Maryland President Dr. Bradley Gottfried

Representatives from academia, government and private industry gathered October 1 at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center to exchange ideas on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in the area. The event was sponsored by NAVAIR’s Women’s Advisory Group (WAG) STEM/EO Team and the Patuxent Partnership and featured a number of speakers and exhibits.

NAVAIR’s Comptroller Jerry Short noted that it takes all three sectors of society to make STEM a success. “There are not enough people graduating to fill the numbers of science and technology jobs for the future,” he said, adding that everyone needs to encourage young people to get into STEM education programs.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Vice Commander CAPT Chris Junge urged attendees not to come forth with just problems but also solutions. He said the issue has to be looked at from “many angles’ to find out what capabilities are needed.
CAPT Junge said he gets excited when he sees young people at Pax River and St. Inigoes get excited about STEM. “It’s all about passion,” he observed.

College of Southern Maryland President Dr. Brad Gottfried and St. Mary’s College President Tuajuanda Jordan both attended the STEM exchange. Gottfried gave an outline of initiatives aimed at women from the perspective of a father of two girls. There are a number of STEM scholarships available at CSM including three from the Patuxent Partnership.

Gottfried is proud of CSM’s robotics competitions with 171 teams involving more than 1,400 students from around the region. He also noted a recent $800,000 grant to upgrade the college’s cyber-security curriculum.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools STEM Director Jason Hayes explained the continuum from Lexington Park Elementary to Spring Ridge Middle School and on to Great Mills High School and the STEM for All initiative to expose all students to science, technology, engineering and Math.

Hayes says it’s a workforce issue. “The 21st Century workforce requires workers proficient in STEM rigors,” he said.

The county program includes two classes of 24 each in 4th and 5th grades at Lexington Park E.S. which culminates in a “Capstone Project” for the students. At Spring Ridge Middle School the class sizes are the same and there’s also a Capstone Project.

At Great Mills the STEM curriculum is tailored to the student’s intended career path. Before the senior year students have to complete an internship at a location that fits their interests, such as Pax River, St. Mary’s Hospital or a local oyster hatchery.
Lockheed Martin’s VP of Navy and Marine Corps Program RADM Steven Tomaszeski (USN, Ret.) said 63 percent of the company’s employees are engineers, hence the interest in STEM programs. The situation is exacerbated by the fact of an aging workforce with thousand retiring in 6-7 years.

Of STEM programs, Tomaszeski said, “Our company is fully behind them. We have to inspire these young men and women.”

Other speakers at the event included Calvert County Public School STEM Director Yovonda Kolo, Northrup Grumman Lead Executive for NAVAIR Scott Stewart, Assistant to the NAWC-AD Commander Dale Moore, and St. Mary’s College Department Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Susan Goldstine.
All attendees at the event were given a 2014-2015 STEM Sourcebook listing government, education, business and corporate organizations involved in STEM in the area.