The University of Texas (UT) Cockrell School of Engineering is joining with Skillpoint Alliance, a Central Texas education and workforce development agency, and Round Rock ISD, a rapidly growing district serving a diverse population of more than 40,000 students, to deploy an integrated approach to engaging middle school students, teachers, counselors, administrators, parents and caregivers in activities that improve awareness and understanding of a range of STEM career and college pathways.

The goal of the project is to create and assess an adaptable scale-up model that enables the participation of underserved audiences (female, minority and low status youth) in intensive, experiential STEM learning, acquisition of 21st century skills, and increased engineering career awareness and interest.

One hundred and seventy five grade 7-12 students in Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts will use an online learning system to participate in IT-intensive engineering design programs at schools and community centers.

120 African American and Latino 7th and 9th grade students and 180 parents and caregivers in the Detroit area use information technology to solve engineering problems. Students acquire experience with scientific and engineering laboratories on college and corporate campuses.

This project is designed to introduce low-income, minority high school youth in New York and New Jersey to engineering and technology skill sets that are used in the sustainable technologies industry.

Four hundred grade 8-12 students in Honolulu, Hawaii are learning about and creating electronic adaptive devices that meet the needs of persons with disabilities and the elderly in the community.

Sixty grade 5-8 students - with a focus on girls - enrolled out-of-school-time (OST) programs in Cambridge and Fall River, MA program and control robotic telescopes, image galactic and extra-galactic objects, and create animations and simulations of common topographic and space-related features. Parents and 10 teachers participate in and facilitate the learning experiences.

In Norfolk, Virginia, 60 students and 60 grade eight through twelve teachers engage in hands-on learning experiences in the fields of marine engineering, physical sciences and robotics with a shipbuilding focus.

Sixty teachers from high-minority urban schools in New Jersey integrate robotics programming, engineering design and information technology into existing curricula for grades 7-12; students engage in ten robotics activities involving computer programming to solve grade-appropriate biomedical engineering problems.

Seventy-two ninth and tenth grade physical science and biology teachers, 180 students during summer workshops, and 24 guidance counselors in the School District of Philadelphia work with education and information technologies to study and apply concepts in nanotechnology and bioengineering. More than 8,000 students will be impacted during the school year.

The project builds on and extends an existing research-based ITEST project, partnering with 4-H clubs across the U.S. to prepare middle school youth for the STEM workplace by developing and testing national curricula for use with a new educational robotics platform to introduce basic technology skills, foster problem solving and inquiry skills, and encourage teamwork.

Using hybrid-learning environments at North Carolina State University, 120 high school students and teachers discover the wonder of Photonics through investigations and internships on electronics, optics and laser technology.

PURSE a program where Metropolitan Detroit high school girls in grades 9-11, participate in project based out-of-school time in space and engineering activities that teach concepts related to the production and storage of energy.

Two hundred students ages 12-15 from 25 4-H clubs throughout Nebraska apply robotics, GPS, and GIS in their work with precision agriculture and environmental science.

One hundred and five grade 7-8 science and mathematics teachers in the Omaha public schools integrate wireless technology, signal processing, control systems, digital logic, and programming into problem-based instructional activities.

More than 100 middle and high school students from Lowell, Massachusetts engage in hands-on nanotechnology related experiments facilitated by project staff, UMass Lowell students and faculty, and industry professionals.

Seventy teachers, 35 guidance counselors and 140 students in an area around Hoboken NJ are collaborating with women and minority faculty to address a design challenge to program an underwater vehicle to perform tasks.