STEM Talks

STEM Talks

Jan’s Jam: A Conversation with Errika Moore
August 29, 2021

Executive Director, STEM Funder’s Network, Atlanta, Georgia STEM Funder’s Network Executive Director Errika Moore is an engineer by profession, but philanthropy is her passion. Errika earned her Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, built an impressive career working for companies such as IBM, BMC Software, and the Southwire Company, and is now thriving in […]

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San Antonio Superintendent Shares Vision With TIES’ Founder Jan Morrison
June 8, 2021

Pedro Martinez urges school leaders to reward educators, push for being better In a video recorded interview, Pedro Martinez, superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District, told Jan Morrison, founder of TIES, that it’s not just enough to “go back” to school and that it’s time to “be better.” Martinez, who is also chair of the Chiefs for Change, […]

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Xan Black Headshot
Xan Black Joins the TIES and STEM Learning Ecosystems Team
May 13, 2021

Ecosystem Leader Wants to Ensure That Every Child Has Goals, Hope and Pathways Xan Black has a quote at the end of her emails from Winston Churchill. It reads, “Never, never, never give up.” While they were Churchill’s words, they are Xan’s life and work. Xan, who retired in March as the executive director of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, […]

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Empowering communities through invention education
March 24, 2021

An Interview with Arthur Daemmrich, Director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation Starting out Arthur Daemmrich, director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, wants to empower students to think critically and creatively, well beyond the limits of their classrooms. His work examines the emergence of technology-based industries, explores the relationship […]

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Saving children and pets from death by hot car
March 2, 2021

Mother, Wanda Ray, beams with pride about her daughter’s invention and the impact it had on her confidence.  As a kid, Wanda played with dollhouses and Barbies. She doesn’t recall doing any inventing when growing up. Podcast host, Jeremy Shorr, reminds Ray that creative play is a very powerful form of invention.  Ray’s daughter Naomi, during her junior year, with […]

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An autonomous tool helping to save baby pigs
February 22, 2021

SwineTech CEO, Matthew Rooda, shares how his company is helping to save the world Voice recognition is a very big part of life at SwineTech. Leveraging voice recognition, SwineTech listens to little baby piglets and identifies when one is in danger of being laid on and crushed by its mother, which is actually a very common problem to happen within […]

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Bringing students together through invention education
February 17, 2021

An interview with Oakland Park, Florida Educator Clara Mabour Clara Mabour teaches biology, marine science, and global perspectives at her alma mater Northeast High School in Oakland Park, Florida. As a 2017 Lemelson MIT Invent Teams teacher, she advised a group of students who developed an invention that prevents mosquitoes from breeding in stagnant water. In fact, Mabour’s been working […]

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Leading the world to whatever is next
November 19, 2020

Oregon educator, Katrina Hull, is preparing the next generation of problem solvers Katrina Hull looks back and doesn’t know how she ended up as a CTE teacher. “I think I just kept saying yes, over and over,” says Hull, who said “yes” to implementing an after- school engineering program and getting more funding and opportunities for her Title I students. […]

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Underdogs to rocket systems champs
October 23, 2020

Teacher, Doug Scott, shows us how to get the disconnected kids involved Rocket Boys “I had four students that participated on our Lemelson MIT event team in 2013 and 2014 – Ford, Jason, Nick and Jim,” says Massachusetts teacher Doug Scott, reflecting on their underdog status. Some of the members of the team were D-level students, much like his own […]

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Women as engineers – encouraging and engaging students earlier
October 13, 2020

An interview with mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, Katelyn Sweeney Mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, Katelyn Sweeny is pretty convinced that everybody has an internal venture with which they’re born. As a child visiting the Kennedy Space Center on a vacation to Florida, Sweeny was appalled when she learned the astronauts didn’t have a snack pocket on their space suit. She was […]

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