Nearly 2,000 students, educators and parents attended X-STEM San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center on April

Host Chuck Nice of Brain Games: On the Road

to people, it’s joking around, and you learn something, you can’t get better than that.”

ST: Yeah, for sure. I know when I watch, I’ve watched

Brain Games for years, and I know when I watch every episode, there’s a moment where my mind is just blown. Does that still happen to you as a host?

CN: Yeah, but it happens before the show, because they give me a packet, so I get the brain science that’s attached to the game, I get the game, what game we’re going to play. So I know the science behind the game before we do it, but even reading it, I tend to say, “Oh my goodness, that’s pretty amazing.”

ST: How did your interest in science come to be?

CN: Interesting that you ask, because people think that I started working with Neil, and then I started liking science. It’s just the opposite. I have liked science and loved science since I was in elementary school, and I’ve been kind of closeted about it. Listen, let’s be honest, a kid that goes to school, knows all about culture, and maybe curses so that he seems a little bit more like an adult, and wears all the great fashion – that’s the cool kid. The kid coming to school talking about dark matter, the expansion of the universe, gravity waves — let’s invite him to every party.

“Hey man, get over here. You hear this guy talking about gravity waves from the collision of two black holes? You’ve got to hear this. Get over here.” No, no, that’s not happening. So what ends up happening is, you keep all that stuff inside, and on the outside you present all that other stuff.

And that’s kind of what my whole life was until I had to come out of the closet, because I’m working with this astrophysicist, and I’m talking to all the top scientists in the world, and quite frankly, whenever you do that… So people think that I’m just there, and a lot of people say, “Oh man, you’re so smart.” Like, “I hear you talking to these scientists, the chief scientists of NASA, and you know one of the authors of the Intergovernmental Panel and Climate Change.” And they’re like, “Damn.” And I’m cheating, I know who’s going to be on the show, I go read their stuff before I sit down with Neil. Because all I want to do is be a part of the conversation, and be able to ask questions of stuff that I want to know, just like the people who are listening, and I can’t do that if I don’t know what I don’t know.

1

5

3

4

1 Host Chuck Nice and Beau of Team Panacea during the "Bowling the Distance" brain teaser, 2 Kristie and Host Chuck Nice watch as Melanie from the Awesome Saucers (center) celebrates, 3 Brain Games: On the Road Host Chuck Nice, 4 Brain Games: On the Road episode 3, 5 Fabian and Jordan of Team Wimberly listen as host Chuck Nice describes the next game

ST: You and Neil have such a fun dynamic together, and I’ve always felt like your opposite senses of humor play a role in that.

CN: Yeah, because Neil is funny … He’s a funny guy, and he gets the joke when I make a joke. So when we first started, people were a little upset, they were like, “Why is Neil sitting with this dude? And this guy is interrupting the science.” And Neil would say, “Just relax, we’re going to get to the science. Let us just have some fun while we do it.” And once again, that’s what I love about “Brain Games,” is the fact that we’re going to get to the science, and you’re not even going to know that we got to the science, because by the time we get to the science, you will have experienced the science, you will have seen it. It will become experiential, and then when you learn about what you just experienced, it now resonates in a way that it would not have, and the same thing happens [with] StarTalk.

I don’t want to sound self-important, and I don’t want to make people think that I’m bigger than I am, but I really feel like when you watch this show, it’s doing a service. Watch it with your kids, they may say, “Oh man, I never knew that.” And then they may be sparked, their curiosity might be sparked, and they might want to learn more, or they might say, “Chuck is so annoying, we can’t watch this ever again.” But then make them watch it anyway, because they’re going to learn something, damn it.

ST: Well, nice thing about Brain Games too is that, I have four kids, they’re all 16 and up, they’re not into documentaries and stuff like that, but they love Brain Games.

CN: Yeah. Isn’t it funny? So people say, “Oh my God, you’re the new host of Brain Games, I love that show.” I haven’t heard anybody say, “So you’re the new host of Brain Games, what a piece of crap that is.”

Yeah. “I can’t believe that, man, why would you do that? Why’d you take that job?” No, people love this franchise. They love it. And I’m really just happy to be the guy who’s running point right now for it.

ST: I guess one last question I wanted to ask, do you have any advice for young people considering STEM careers today?

CN: As a dad with two students, in two separate STEM academies, who are both on AP tracks, and who are both honors students, they are also both adopted, so they did not get any of my stupid gene, I’m joking, I am joking, I’m joking. They are my biological children, just

6

7

6 The Gills complete a brain buster while host Chuck Nice watches during Brain Games: On the Road, 7 Host Chuck Nice in case they hear this interview, kids, you’re not adopted, you’re not. Let me just say this, STEM is where the future is. We live in a society now, and we’re soon to live in a global society, where, I hate to say this, the lion’s share of physical labor is going to be done by machines.

If we don’t all destroy ourselves first, the lion’s share of physical labor will be done by machines. Two things are going to have to happen. One, there’ll be a little bit of universal income, the other thing that’s going to happen is, we’re going to have to transition into a state where critical thinking and scientific discovery, the scientific method, and evidentiary process is what drives our economy, and our society, and that’s science.

Follow Chuck on Twitter, @ChuckNiceComic, and online at ChuckNiceComic.com. Brain Games: On The Road is available on Nat Geo and streams on Disney+.

Highlights

Nearly 2,000 students, educators and parents attended X-STEM San Diego

BY ARON VAUGHAN PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE USA SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FESTIVAL

SPEAKERS

WORKSHOPS

X-STEM ALL ACCESS

PRODUCED BY the USA Science & Engineering Festival, X-STEM San Diego 2022provided children grades six to 12, educators, and parents kids and adultsof all ages the opportunity to learn about the STEM fields through presentations and hands-on workshops.

SPEAKERS

STUDENTS WERE TRANSPORTED into

the vast expanse of space with Kevin J DeBruin and shown the importance of animal conservation from Dr. Mrinalini Watsa. Attendees were shown the wonders of DNA by Illumina's Dr. Janina Jeff and were captivated by a STEM concert performed by David "Mr. D" Landix and LaMar "Mr. Q-U-E" Queen from Music Notes. General Atomics' Debra Roy and Chuck Wright inspired all in the field of aeronautics and the growing industry of unmanned aircraft. Emcee Maynard Okereke "Hip Hop M.D." was also on deck to keep audiences entertained throughout the event. HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

SPEAKER:

Kevin J DeBruin — “Felt so amazing to be back for an in-person event! The energy, the smiles, the look in people’s eyes, real-time feedback…AMAZING!”

EDUCATOR:

“The X-STEM Conference gave my students a chance to experience different techniques in Science and Engineering that they might not normally have had the chance to do. It was a great experience for my high school freshmen. They walked away with so many new ideas!”

PARENT:

“It was fantastic! The kids were very engaged and really loved the lab! I wish I had a rapping science and math teacher in my middle school when I was a kid!”

WORKSHOPS

ALONG WITH PRESENTATIONS from an

inspiring group of STEM professionals, the conference featured hands-on STEM workshops.

Students got to participate in a STEAMoriented game show hosted by lllumina and Generation STEAM.

UCSD’s Bioengineering Graduate Society (BEGS) taught students about the function of lungs with a hands-on balloon activity as well as how to extract DNA from a strawberry in order to get a greater understanding of various genetic applications.

General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation captured their students' attention with magnetism and the light spectrum. Students even got to take home their very own spectroscope.

FOR YOUNG STEM enthusiasts who

were not able to attend the in-person conference, a free virtual conference series is available for middle and high schoolers.

Students will get an inside look into the exciting careers and inspiring personal journeys of diverse STEM role models through a lively Q&A session with a fellow STEM professional. The 30-minute episodes will premiere throughout the school year and will be available on-demand.

The series has benefits for educators, parents and students including the ability to fit episodes into class time or as a fun homework assignment. Parents can use the episodes as an at-home STEM enrichment activity, and students can tune in at any time to be inspired and learn about STEM careers of the future. Register at USAsciencefestival.org

ILLUSTRATION BY: Freepik/flaticon.com

WO MEN STEM in

The Biggest Hurdles to Keeping Young Women Passionate about STEM

BY COREY NOLES

WITH INSIGHTS FROM

DR. TRACY FANARA

TAMARA ROBERTSON

JILL MULLAN MELISSA FAUTH ELSA SHIJU

PHOTO CREDIT: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

I

T’S NO SECRET that the STEM world is always in need of fresh female faces to join the workforce. According to the most recent US census data, only 27% of STEM workers are women, despite making up nearly half of the nation’s workforce. The jobs already exist but the lack of female interest in the positions creates the gender disparity we see today.

In 2019, there were nearly 10.8 million workers in STEM occupations, according to Census Bureau estimates.

There are a variety of factors that have led to this trend, which we’ll go through in this article. However, don’t let the numbers above fool you. While there are fewer women than men in STEM fields, the impact of those who are present is massive.

In this issue, we’re highlighting those workers, influencers, and future stars of the STEM world, but we’re also going to take a deep dive into the issues that created the current situation.

Throughout the world, but particularly in the US, young girls don’t seem to keep an interest in science and math-based subjects far beyond elementary school.

WHERE ARE WOMEN MAKING GAINS?

According to census data, in 1970 women comprised only 8% of the STEM Workforce, so there have been significant gains over the past 50 years in a variety of fields.

In the social sciences, women have practically taken over. Over that same 50 years, they have risen from 19% of social science workers to a whopping 64% in 2019.

In addition, women make up nearly half of workers today in mathematics (47%) and in physical science (45%).

With that said, there are areas that lack women more than others, such as computer science and engineering. Those two areas alone make up some 80%+ of all STEM jobs.

So, why is that? Well, there are a variety of reasons.

GIRLS ARE LEAVING THE SCIENCES TOO EARLY

A trend that has been pointed out over the years is that girls have a tendency to shy away from the sciences as they reach middle school age. Maybe it’s fun as a younger kid, but with age come other interests, changes in priority, and even changes in the body.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

“If someone thinks you're good at on and how good at math and science I was, who knows if I something, and you want to be would actually be good at it? That has a lot to do with it.” good to meet those expectations, you're going to work harder at It’s around that age when other interests begin creeping into life for all adolescents. These formative those things.” years are crucial in terms of finding one’s passions in life. Most people love the music, films, and television shows from that time for the rest of

So, the question is: How do you keep that interest their lives — and the things they are most passionate alive beyond middle school? Well, it’s tricky. about learning during that crucial time tend to carry

Dr. Tracy Fanara, who we have featured in the past, is through to adulthood too. a prime example of someone who made it through that Support both at home and from amazing teachers is age and has built not just a love for science, but a where the key lies in fostering a life-long desire to learn passion for sharing that love with others. For her, more about anything — particularly science. Having a though, the real reason started at home. high confidence level in one’s abilities can also play a

“Because I taught seventh-grade science as part of vital role. my dissertation funding, I realized how important that “If someone thinks you're good at something, and age group is,” said Fanara. “And if it wasn't for my you want to be good to meet those expectations, you're mom telling me how smart I was from sixth [grade] going to work harder at those things,” said Fanara.