American CyberSystems Offers $5,000 College Scholarship to YWCA of Greater Atlanta's Teen Girls in Technology Program

/PRNewswire/ -- American CyberSystems, Inc. (ACS), a major sponsor of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta's Teen Girls in Technology (TGI Tech) program, announced today that it is offering a $5,000 scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to a high school graduate and TGI Tech participant looking to major in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) in college. TGI Tech is a program dedicated to preparing young women for non-traditional careers with a STEM focus.

"This scholarship can help to open the door for a program participant whose goal is to immerse herself in non-traditional learning subjects. The opportunity to go to college is something some of these girls may not have without outside assistance, such as the generous scholarship provided by American CyberSystems," said Judy Brown-Fears, TGI Tech program director.

The TGI Tech program is introduced to middle school students and continues through high school. American CyberSystems President Raj Sardana and his wife, Nita Sardana, have sponsored TGI Tech since 2006. ACS encourages its employees to take an active role in strengthening the community by supporting teen technology education and mentoring.

ACS funded a TGI Tech field trip last year to the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida. The trip exposed participants to the importance that women have in the NASA program and also provided the opportunity to experience science and technology in action.

"TGI Tech serves as a valuable learning tool for girls in their formative years," Nita Sardana commented. "Having two daughters currently pursuing degrees in college, we understand the importance of introducing technology at a young age."

"ACS provides leading-edge information technology solutions and understands how very important it is to foster IT careers for girls today so we can fill the pipeline with skilled professionals for the future," Raj Sardana said. "These same students may one day be ACS consultants working at Fortune 100 companies here in Atlanta."

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New Georgia Tech/Georgia State Collaboration Designed to Support Certified STEM Teachers

A new collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University (GSU) streamlines the process for increasing the number of highly-quality certified math and science teachers.

Approved by the Board of Regents on Aug. 10, the Georgia Tech-GSU Bachelor of Science/Master of Arts in Teaching (BS/MAT) Option is unique because it allows students to apply credits to degrees earned at both institutions while also completing a state-approved teacher certification program. The program will begin this fall.

“This collaboration is consistent with the Regents’ commitment to supporting a high-quality teaching workforce, especially in high need areas. We know that teachers prepared at USG institutions are retained in Georgia classrooms at high levels, making this partnership beneficial for the new teachers, the schools and education across the state,” said Lynne Weisenbach, the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for Educator Preparation, Innovation and Research.

The Georgia Tech-GSU initiative focuses on the strengths of both institutions, according to Donna Llewellyn, director of Georgia Tech’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. She points out, “Georgia Tech is known for its incredible STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students, and Georgia State is known for its excellent programs for preparing teachers for our state’s and nation’s schools – it just makes good sense to pair up and utilize each of these strengths.”

The initiative supports preparing certified teachers for STEM programs in grades four through eight and six through twelve. Llewellyn adds, “This partnership not only helps develop top-notch teachers who can help educate the Georgia workforce, but it also assures that we have a home-grown pipeline of teachers who can fully prepare students to pursue higher education degrees – this is a win-win!”

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NASA and Texas Instruments Use Human Spaceflight to Bring Math and Science Topics Into High School Classrooms

/PRNewswire/ -- NASA and Texas Instruments are using the theme of human space exploration to develop digital libraries of math and science problems for high school students. The goal is to bring real-world topics in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, into classrooms to spark students' excitement and interest in these critical career fields.

The collaboration will produce two digital libraries. One, called Exploring Space Through Math: Applications in High School Mathematics, will provide problems based on NASA data that are set in the context of space exploration. The project material will cover almost the entire high school math curriculum, with applications in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus.

The other digital library, named Science at Work: Exploring Space with NASA-AP, will contain questions for Advanced Placement classes. This program seeks to develop and test problems in calculus, statistics, physics, chemistry and biology.

"As students solve real problems NASA faces in space exploration, they will practice during high school and college the skills necessary to pursue a career in a STEM field," said Charles Lloyd, NASA's lead for the effort and program manager for Human Research Program Education and Outreach at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "NASA and Texas Instruments are passionate about motivating the next generation's interest in science and math subjects and equipping these students to take us farther into space and improve our lives here on Earth."

The libraries of questions will use NASA applications and data while incorporating Texas Instruments' math learning technology. Each problem includes student and teacher editions to help the teacher link content to higher concepts.

"Our goal is to make STEM subjects more fun and interactive," said Werner Garciano, director of Professional Development for Texas Instruments' Education Technology. "Working with NASA is a great opportunity to bring exciting, real-world math experiences into the classroom. Our collaboration will expand the digital content and professional development that Texas Instruments provides teachers, and will help engage students more deeply in math. Together, we believe these activities will break through to students who have never considered a STEM career path."

Both projects will be available in the fall of 2010 on NASA's Web site. With this program, NASA continues its investment in engaging and retaining students in STEM disciplines critical to the agency's future engineering, scientific, and technical missions. For more information about NASA's education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education

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