U . S . N AVA L A C A D E M Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N A N D F O U N D AT I O N
I M PA C T R E P O R T
2022–2023
STEM CENTER FOR EDUCATION AND OUTREACH 1
2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
STEM Center for Education and Outreach
SUMMARY
Thanks to the support provided by generous donors, the U.S. Naval Academy STEM Center for Education and Outreach continues to make an impact in both local and national communities. Ongoing and substantial funding creates a world of possibility for students and educators, as STEM outreach programs have a lasting and transformational impact on our youth, including those from underserved and underrepresented populations. During the 2022–2023 academic year, the STEM Center utilized these contributions to develop future leaders with the confidence, creativity, problem-solving skills, and technological proficiency to address challenges in a constantly evolving world.
YEAR IN REVIEW In June 2023, 840 rising 9th-11th graders from all 50 states attended the Summer STEM Program, a residential week-long program held at the U.S. Naval Academy. USNA faculty presented highly engaging sessions in DoD technical areas across STEM disciplines. Additional high school programs include STEM on Deck, introduced in August 2022, providing a one-day Summer STEM Program for 250 high school students from around the country. High School Biotech Day was again offered in January 2023, and High School Flight Day was offered as a new program in April 2023. 455 female students participated in fall 2022 and spring 2023 Girls Only STEM events. Events included middle and high school programs, including the annual High School Girls Space Day & Astronaut Convocation. The addition of field trip groups brought students from inner-city underserved schools to these events. 614 teachers attended STEM Educator Workshops, reaching thousands of students through secondary impact. New initiatives included site visits to DoDEA schools overseas to provide professional development at schools serving militaryconnected students. 3,250 students participated in Summer Heroes Youth Program (SHYP), with 25 midshipmen mentors leading 300 classroom visits for ten middle schools in the local region. Additional events included an underwater robotics SeaPerch Showcase for 5th graders from local schools, a STEM Day for high school students in collaboration with the National Park Service at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, MD, and a STEM Day for middle school students from the Navy League Sea Cadets program.
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
STEM Center for Education and Outreach
SUMMER STEM PROGRAM
SUMMER STEM PROGRAM
The USNA STEM Center develops midshipmen as STEM leaders and reaches into the community to sustain and foster the STEM pipeline. In collaboration with the Office of Admissions, the STEM Center implements the academic portion of the Summer STEM Program. The annual program holds three one-week sessions and encourages rising 9th-11th grade students to pursue educational paths and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math while introducing them to the U.S. Naval Academy as a possible resource for their future. The program has grown to include 10,052 student alumni, many of whom go on to continue their education at USNA and/or pursue STEM majors. With the Summer STEM Program now in its 16th year, 719 past participants have been inducted as USNA midshipmen (including the Class of 2026), preferentially choosing majors in the Math and Sciences Division and the Engineering and Weapons Division.
BRIDGE BUILDING MATH CHALLENGE SPINNING WINGS ROBOSENSE ENGINEERING DESIGN: MARBLE MAZE CYBER ATTACK WEATHER & CLIMATE AQUACULTURE ENGINEERING MACHINE LEARNING SEARCHING FOR UNOBTAINIUM CHEMISTRY APPLICATIONS: OPERATION WASH UP
The Summer STEM Program invites 840 students in June from all 50 states and several countries, with the program held on campus at the U.S. Naval Academy. Eighteen different academic modules are offered, led by USNA STEM faculty, staff, and midshipmen. The modules provide campers with exposure to world-class laboratories, authentic learning experiences presented at a collegiate level, hands-on interactions, and realworld applications. Subjects include robotics, machine learning, bio-terrorism, applied mathematics, chemistry, aviation and aerospace, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and electronics, computer programming, cybersecurity, oceanography, weather and climate, and aquaculture engineering. In June 2023, 840 students attended the week-long residential program held at the U.S. Naval Academy, led by 22 faculty and staff and 36 academic midshipmen.
AI: ROCK PAPER SCISSORS COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH MAKING WAVES CIRCUITS, WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS BIOTERRORISM STORM CHASING SOLDERING: BUILD YOUR OWN
Additional high school programs have been introduced to provide more opportunities for students to explore the academic programs at USNA. STEM on Deck, first offered in August 2022, is designed as a one-day Summer STEM Program for 250 high school students from around the country. High School Biotech Day exposes students to DoD research and careers in biotechnology, with applications ranging from bio-fuels manufacturing to viral diagnostics and bio-defense. In April 2023, High School Flight Day was offered as a new program, in which students investigated the principles of flight by exploring rockets, gliders, and rotorcraft.
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
STEM Center for Education and Outreach
GIRLS ONLY STEM EVENTS The STEM Center hosts events specifically for girls each year, with the aim of encouraging young women to pursue interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 2022-2023, 455 middle and high school girls attended the STEM Center’s Girls Only STEM Days. Participants included diverse, underserved populations as well as military-connected students. Activities were led by female faculty and near-peer midshipmen mentors serving as role models. The Girls Only STEM events give students the opportunity to explore STEM topics and realize their own potential to thrive in rapidly growing STEM fields where female scientists and engineers remain underrepresented. The Middle School Girls Only STEM Day event was held in fall 2022 and spring 2023 at the U.S. Naval Academy as a day-long program for students, with a focus on reaching underrepresented populations. Midshipmen led students in hands-on activities building problem solving and critical thinking skills while engaging in the engineering design process and exploring scientific principles and how they relate to careers and real-world applications. Topics included bio-fuels, applied math, structural engineering, coding, robotics, machine learning, optics, engineering challenges, and more. About 200 students attended each event, including field trip groups from underserved schools in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, and New York City. In spring 2023, the annual High School Girls Space Day and Astronaut Convocation featured hands-on activities focused on aerospace and flight, reaching underserved and underrepresented students including a field trip group from Vertex Academies in New York City. Students also attended the Astronaut Convocation and a Meet & Greet with astronauts.
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
STEM Center for Education and Outreach
STEM EDUCATOR WORKSHOPS
SET SAIL SUMMER EDUCATOR PROGRAM
During the 2022-2023 academic year, the STEM Center held 13 professional development events for 614 educators at workshops held at the U.S. Naval Academy and other sites, as well as interactive webinar programs. These training sessions, led by USNA faculty and staff, gave teachers a chance to explore STEM content areas and real-world applications, with curriculum and methodology to engage students in project-based activities in science and engineering. Materials were also provided for immediate implementation in the classroom. Providing training to teachers in public and private schools around the nation and DoDEA schools in the country and overseas, the STEM Center’s educational influence is far reaching and impacts not just the individual educators who participate in the programs, but their schools, colleagues, students, and future students as well.
CYBERSECURITY: Cryptography, password hacking, hashing ENGINEERING DESIGN: Simple machines, mechanical devices ELECTRICITY: Circuits, soldering CHEMISTRY: Chromatography, polymers, surface tension BIOTECHNOLOGY: Biofuels, bioterrorism, DNA analysis DATA SCIENCE AND MATH: Machine learning, artificial intelligence
The STEM Center’s annual SET Sail fall and spring programs included workshops held at the U.S. Naval Academy attended by educators from schools in underserved communities in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, and other regions. Faculty, with midshipmen support, presented on multidisciplinary topics including biotechnology, engineering design, weather and climate, coding, structural engineering, applied math, alternative energy, and more. Teachers received curriculum and sample supplies for implementation in the classroom. Educators from Maryland earned Continuing Professional Development credit from the Maryland State Department of Education for repeat attendance in the USNA training program.
AEROSPACE AND FLUIDS: Bernoulli’s Principle, flight, rockets PHYSICS AND SPACE: Gears and pulleys, optics, acoustics ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS: Thermodynamics ENVIRONMENT: Climate, albedo MECHANICS AND HYDRAULICS: Hydraulics, forces, Pascal’s principle
Additional educator programs included training teachers to build SeaPerch robots, an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) used in robotics competitions for middle and high school students. STEM Center faculty and staff traveled to Puerto Rico in March 2023 to provide a series of STEM educator workshops for middle and high school teachers at DoDEA schools for military-connected students. The educators utilized the training and supplies provided by USNA to immediately implement a schoolwide middle school STEM Day. In April 2023, STEM training was conducted for DoD scientists, engineers, and educators from around the nation at the DoD STEM Technical Exchange held in Washington, DC. USNA STEM Faculty presented sessions for educators at the Science Teachers Association conferences in Pennsylvania and in Tennessee, as well as sessions for pre-service teachers in collaboration with the Philadelphia Regional Institute for STEM Educators. Virtual educator trainings were conducted as part of a professional development day for science teachers in DC Public Schools. After completion
STRUCTURES: Engineering, geometry
of USNA STEM training, educators were provided classroom sets of supplies to implement the activities at their own schools. SET Sail includes an annual week-long residential summer educator program with two sessions held on-site at the U.S. Naval Academy. Workshops cover a range of science and engineering topics delving into hands-on teaching strategies and Navy relevant applications. In summer 2023, 100 teachers from public, private, and DoDEA schools across the country as well as DoDEA schools overseas were invited to attend. Lodging, meals, and a travel stipend are provided as well as supplies to implement activities in the classroom.
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
STEM Center for Education and Outreach
SUMMER HEROES YOUTH PROGRAM
The aim of the program is to promote positive attributes of perseverance, self-esteem, and confidence while exposing students to STEM career possibilities and realworld applications.
The USNA Summer Heroes Youth Program (SHYP), offered annually, reaches thousands of middle school students from underserved schools in the region. Student activity sessions are led exclusively by midshipmen nearpeer mentors, who act as role models in STEM. During the course of the program, midshipmen gain professional development experience in leadership, adaptability, and communication. Student participants learn about STEM careers and focus on how scientists and engineers use their knowledge and technical skills to improve society and tackle global problems. Students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills as they complete challenges in science and engineering and participate in sessions on a variety of subjects including engineering design, applied math, flight principles, chemistry, mechanics, physics, biotechnology, and bioengineering.
In summer 2023, 25 midshipmen engaged 3,250 students with 300 classroom visits at ten public middle schools with underserved populations in Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC; Prince Georges’ County and Anne Arundel County, MD; as well as military-connected students at Quantico Middle high school in Quantico, VA. Additional events included an underwater robotics SeaPerch Showcase for 5th graders from Anne Arundel County Public Schools, a STEM Day for high school students in collaboration with the National Park Service at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, MD, and a STEM Day for middle school students in the Navy League Sea Cadets program.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
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