In a speech to National Academy of Sciences members gathered for the Academy's 146th annual meeting, President Barack Obama announced major initiatives to boost research funding and bolster math and science education. He said he was restoring science to its rightful place, and urged NAS members to join him in creative efforts to engage young people in science.

Source: The National Academies

Full story: http://www8.nationalacademies.org
Audio: http:// http://nationalacademies.org/podcast/20090427.mp3

Maui High robotics team holds its own in first test on national stage.

WAILUKU - Tired but satisfied, members of Maui High School's robotics team said they had an "amazing experience" competing among hundreds of other high schools in the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Atlanta over the weekend.

Source: The Maui News

Full Story: http://www.mauinews.com

ATLANTA - It's so far, so good as Maui High School's robotics team heads into the final day of competition in the FIRST Robotics World Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Source: The Maui News

Full story: http://www.mauinews.com

Learning to construct, program and operate a robot for a competition
involves more than knowing science and technology, a team of Maui High School
students told the Maui Economic Development Board.

Source: Maui Economic Development Board

Full story: http://www.medb.org

At the FIRST Robotics Competition, three all-female teams are helping to rewire a male-dominated profession.
Read more

May 19, 10:00am - 11:30am

Windward Campus, Paliku Theatre, Oahu

As part of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, Windward Community College's Center for Aerospace Education is offering a symposium for middle and high school girls to learn more about careers in astronomy.

Ticket Information
Free; Reservations required. Contact nancyali@hawaii.edu or call 236-9169 for reservations.

Event Sponsor
Center for Aerospace Education, Windward Campus

Photo from left to right: Isla Young, Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., Lea Pigao, Maui High Student, Senator Roz Baker and Bryce Rubican, Maui High Student.

The students were on the winning FIRST Robotics team. Funding for their trip to Atlanta, GA, for the World Championship will be provided by Ke Alahele Education Fund, UH College of Engineering, ROC and BAE Systems Hawaii.

The Pacific Northwest Girls Collaborative is now accepting mini-grant applications through May 22, 2009, for collaborating programs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, and Alaska.

National Girls Collaborative Project mini-grants are awarded to girl-serving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused programs to support collaboration, address gaps and overlaps in service, and share promising practices. Mini-grant projects must relate to either informal learning or evaluation and assessment. Mini-grants are a small amount of seed funding and are not intended to fully fund entire projects. The maximum mini-grant award is $1000. For more information about mini-grants, visit http://ngcproject.org/mini-grant/index.cfm.

Students qualify for world championship competition in April

By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer, Maui News
HONOLULU - Maui High School science teacher Keith Imada expected to spend the rest of his spring break doing household chores.

Instead, he'll be planning a trip to Georgia for his students, who worked with pupils from two other schools to capture a regional robotics competition title over the weekend on Oahu.
Read more

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- A pilot initiative, known as the NavyWomen eMentor Leadership Program, has gained momentum, exceeded expectations and helped build productive relationships for females in the fleet.
Read more

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that Iolani School from Honolulu, Hawaii is the winner of the DOE's 2009 Real World Design Challenge. Fifty-four high school students representing 10 states from across the Nation competed in the National Challenge. The finals were held at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
Read more

Kekaulike also brings home award from annual national event.

Maui High School's Project EAST team flew to Arkansas in early March knowing theirs was among the top 10 schools competing for the Founder's Award, the top overall prize at the national technology conference.
Read more

President Obama has just signed an executive order establishing the "White House Council on Women and Girls." The purpose of the new group "is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy," he said at the signing. Read more

The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) Education and Scholarship Committee is offering scholarships for high school students pursuing science and technology post-secondary education.

Commander Glenn Hernandez, 2009 AFCEA Education Chair, has posted 2009-2010 scholarship information and applications on their website. Questions about the AFCEA scholarships can be addressed directly to CDR Hernandez.

Note: These scholarships are available for ALL students and are not exclusive to military dependents.

You can by participating in the 5th Annual Global Marathon For, By, and About Women in Engineering.

What is the Global Marathon?

At any and all times during a 24-hour period a “conversation” will take place somewhere in the world on issues for, by and about women in engineering. The Marathon is a combination of live Internet chats and teleconferences, and all are accessible to a worldwide audience.

Commencing on Wednesday, 11 March at noon (U.S. EDT) and concluding at noon the following day on 12 March, nearly 50 presenters from around the world will:

- Share personal career stories to inspire working women and spark the interest of young girls in science, technology, engineering, and math.

- Provide information about various career choices in engineering and technology companies.

- Introduce careers in technology and engineering as exciting, rewarding, and fun!

- Provide an opportunity for women and girls to make connections with one another.

- Present resources available to help enter and/or advance careers in technology fields.

Presenters from six regions including North America, UK/Europe, Latin America, Africa/Middle East, India, and China will join in a collaborative global approach to influence how young girls, university students and professional women can become involved in and support the engineering and technology communities.

More than 300,000 pre-college, college, and professional women called in, logged on, or listened in during the 2008 event. We’re confident, with your participation, we can reach even more young women with this exciting and important message.

Please join Leslie Jones, Senior Vice-President, Chief Information Officer, Motorola, Inc. and the 2009 Global Honorary Chair in this unique event.

Participants from Africa and the Middle East should contact: marketfinders@comcast.net if interested in presenting or providing written commentary.

Participants from other regions should if interested in presenting or providing commentary should contact the appropriate Regional Leader. Regional Leaders can be found by scrolling down on this page.

Island Insurance Company, Ltd., through its Foundation, has provided $50,000 to Farrington High School in matching funds provided by Governor Lingle and the State Legislature for the expansion of the Project EAST program to Oahu. The check was presented by Colbert Matsumoto, Chairman of the Board & CEO of Island Insurance Company, Ltd., at the school's student induction into the Engineering Academy on Friday, February 13th. Read more

Stanford professor says wider participation is critical.

The United States is in danger of losing its leadership in science and technology unless more women and minorities are recruited to become scientists, a Stanford physicist said at a national conference in Chicago Saturday morning. Read more

Sunetric, previously known as Suntech Hawaii and the state's largest locally owned solar integrator, recently completed installation of a 500 kW solar farm at Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kauai. The project by Hawaii Pacific Health Partners, Inc. is the first of its kind at a Hawaii hospital and the second largest solar farm in the state. During peak sun hours, it supplies 52 percent of the hospital's electricity needs. Read more

April 9 - May 28, 2009
Eight Thursdays from 2:30 - 4:00 PM

Learn how to integrate GeoTech into the classroom!
Receive a stipend of $100 OR a GPS Handheld!
Receive two GeoTech related books with standards based curriculum and community service project ideas.
Discover the benefits of interactive, online learning!

See attached flyer for more information.

**Update: Class is now full


Intro_GeoTech_flyer_2009.pdf

The Women in Technology Project and the County of Maui are hosting Maui County's 9th annual "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day" (IGED) being held on Thursday, February 19 during National Engineers Week (February 15-21).

Download the latest press release, the registration flyer or email Jeni Salvador for more information! Or visit the National Engineers Week Foundation, the headquarters for National Engineers Week and IGED.

Given the rising unemployment rate across the country, it came as no surprise that the most anticipated event for homebound job seekers was the annual High Tech Maui Holiday Career Fair, held on December 29th at the Maui Research & Technology Park.

Sponsored by the Maui Economic Development Board's Women in Technology (WIT) Project and Kama'aina Careers, the Career Fair offers kama'aina a chance to meet and discuss their qualifications in person with top STEM employers. At the same time, it provides Maui-based employers the opportunity to relay company information and recruit Hawaii-born students and former residents who come home to spend the holidays with family and friends.

This year's event attracted over 200 highly motivated job seekers and 20 high tech employers. Since its inception in 2001, the Career Fair has attracted nearly 800 applicants and placed more than 60 job seekers in local tech companies within and outside the R & T Park.

"We're really pleased to see more and more Maui-based tech companies using this event to successfully recruit kama'aina," Jenilynne Salvador, WIT Project Manager said. "And although a few employers did not have positions open at this time, they still showed up to network with applicants, collect resumes for future openings and answer questions about their company."

2008 participating employers included Akamai Workforce Initiative, Akimeka, The Boeing Company, County of Maui, Goodfellow Brothers, HighTechMaui, HNU Photonics, Maui Community College, Maui High Performance Computing Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center, Monsanto, Northrup Grumman, Oceanit, Pacific Defense Solutions, Pacific Disaster Center, Peletex, Textron Systems, UH Institute for Astronomy and Women in Technology.

Kama'aina researching employment opportunities can find listings of STEM job descriptions and company profiles at http://www.hightechmaui.com and http://www.kamaainacomehome.com.

For more information about the High Tech Maui Holiday Career Fair, contact Jenilynne Salvador at 808-875-2332 or email jeni@medb.org.

The Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics (HCTM) Annual Conference and T³ Regional Conference will be held January 16-17, 2009. Visit the HCTM website for more information.

HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE SUMMER 2009

WHAT: Human Impacts and Hawai'i's Coral Reef Health: A Marine and Environmental Science Program is a NOAA B-WET funded professional development program for high school science teachers in Hawaii.

The program is a partnership between the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and Windward Community College - Pacific Center for Environmental Sciences (PaCES). The course will focus on marine and environmental science by exposing participants to relevant content and hands-on science inquiry using a variety of instruments and methods for in-the-field investigation. Teachers will collaborate to develop relevant lessons that focus on inquiry and target HCPS III science benchmarks.

WHO: All Oahu and Neighbor Island teachers are encouraged to apply. Teachers from HIDOE Title I schools are especially encouraged to apply.

WHEN: June 15 - July 10, 2009 from 9-4 M-F

PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE: 6 academic credits under the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) College of Education Curriculum Studies Department. These credits will count towards a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) degree at UHM and are applicable for up to 6 years. You do not have to be a current Masters student to receive the credits or apply. If you are interested in pursuing a M.Ed. degree, please contact Neil Pateman for information: pateman@hawaii.edu.

Participants also receive a monetary stipend.

For complete information and instructions on how to apply, please visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/himb/Education/education.html to download the application form. The deadline to apply is January 20th, 2009!

Please email: mmanning@hawaii.edu if you have additional questions.


Mackenzie M. Manning
Marine Education Grant Coordinator
Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology
P.O. Box 1346. Kane'ohe, HI 96744
Phone: 808-236-7498 Fax: 808-236-7476

Check out the job descriptions and company information of participating companies at the 7th annual High Tech Maui Holiday Job Fair on Monday, December 29, 2008!

Is Santa guilty of breaking the laws of physics as expressed in Einstein's theory of relativity? Can Santa deliver all his gifts to the good children of the world without breaking the universal limit set by the speed of light?

Dr. Robert Jedicke of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy will take an entertaining look at Mr. Claus' annual trip from the physicist's perspective. In the process, he will introduce the audience to the bizarre effects that take place in a relativistic universe.

This will be a fun, equation-free presentation suitable for those in high school or older. Dr. Jedicke gave this talk at IfA Manoa last year, and it is back by popular demand.

The talk will be given at three times on three islands: at the Maikalani building in Pukalani, Maui, on Friday, December 5 at 6:30 p.m., in the UH Manoa Art Building Auditorium (room 132) on Monday, December 8 at 7:00 p.m., and on Thursday, December 11 at 7:00 p.m. at UH Hilo in the University Classroom Building, room 100.

Admission is free. Those attending on Maui are asked to park on the street. On-campus parking at UH Manoa is available for $3.

Cookies and eggnog will be served after the Manoa talk.

For more information check out the press release at the Institute for Astronomy website.

Teachers will be lead through a series of lectures and hands on labs in Chemistry, Cell Biology, Mendelian Genetics and Biotechnology.

Requirements: 4th - 8th grade Hawaii science teachers.

Cost: Free to admitted applicants

Where: Maui Community College

When: January 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th and 9th 2009

9AM - 3 PM each day

Download Flyer (pdf)

Check out the new Society of Women Engineers Website!

Three UH Manoa graduate level scientists came over last week from Oahu to support activities in classrooms at five different Maui County schools. The scientists are all Fellows of the National Science Foundation GK12 program who regularly support Oahu classrooms. The Women in Technology Project coordinated and funded their travel to support Maui schools. These "scientist in the classroom" activities are part of the ongoing, in-class support for teachers who participated in a scientific inquiry workshop this past summer.

Betty Braske, one of the participating teachers, said, "I thought this was a fantastic opportunity for the children! They really need to see what scientists do... what a scientist looks like... and the opportunity to interact with a real scientist. It was great for the kids. Just fantastic!"

Photo: Maui students practice using sampling techniques to study the abundance and diversity of species: 'quadrat sampling'.

Diversity and Equity Initiative at the University of Hawaii Department of Mathematics presents...

"An Afternoon of Beautiful Mathematics for Girls"

Sunday, December 7, 2008
1:00 - 5:00pm
FREE EVENT
Campus Center Ballroom
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Girls in elementary and middle school, along with their families, will be treated to some short expository talks about beautiful and exciting mathematics. They will then have the opportunity to explore mathematical ideas more deeply at the mentor-run discover stations.

"I think, therefore I am." - Rene Descartes

For more information visit: http://www.math.hawaii.edu/~mchyba/public/index.htm