Science, Technology,
Engineering & Math
From grade school to grad school, Navy wants to engage, educate, empower
By EDWARD LUNDQUIST, Special Correspondent
Building for the Future
“Two years ago, for the first time
in the U.S., we awarded more
advanced technical degrees to non-
U.S. citizens, than to U.S. citizens,”
Carr said. “Clearly, it’s very impor-
tant not just for the Navy, but for
the country that we have a healthy
STEM base among the student pop-
ulation, so we help with that.”
“Our nation needs a talented
work force of science and technolo-
gy [S&T] engineers,” Navy Under-
secretary Robert O. Work, told more
than 1,500 attendees at the 2010
Office of Naval Research Science and Technology
Partnership Conference who gathered in Arlington, Va.,
in November to discuss collaboration throughout the
naval community. “We have got to grow the future of the
S&T community and we need a partnership to do so.”
STEM has top-level attention. President Barack
Obama has called for increasing STEM literacy,
improving the quality of math and science teaching so
American students are no longer outperformed by
those from other nations, and expanding STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented
groups, including women and minorities.
The Navy has created an information portal for students, teachers, counselors and mentors called
STEM2Stern ( www.stem2stern.org) that discusses the
broad range of STEM activities, targeted grades and
focus areas. STEM2Stern also brings together professionals involved in Navy STEM programs across the
Naval Research Enterprise, as well as other federal
agency stakeholders.
The Navy spent about $50 million on STEM outreach last year. Carr said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus
wants the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to double
that investment in the next five years.
ONR exhibits and participates in events such as the
National Science Teachers Association national confer-
The U.S. Navy is promoting science, technology, engineering and
math (STEM) education to young people.
■ The Navy’s future ship designers and engineers need to be
inspired today.
■ The service spent $50 million on STEM outreach last year, and
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus wants to double that amount.
■ Building robots today lays the foundation for tomorrow.
The U.S. Navy knows the pool of available talent o advance the Navy of the future might not be deep enough to float the fighting fleet for the
next number of generations, so it is working hard to
promote science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM) education for young people across America.
“Science, technology, engineering and math is a very
important area for us because none of this happens
without a healthy scientific, engineering and technical
base of talent,” said Rear Adm. Nevin P. Carr Jr., chief
of naval research. “Today, that talent might be in the
fourth or fifth grade, and they need to be inspired to
pursue the hard, important, technical careers. And,
once inspired, they need to be assisted and nurtured,
sometimes in the form of scholarships and fellowships,
and, in some cases, mentored.
“It’s the right thing to do, not just for the country, but
we want those bright young minds to do good things for
the Navy, whether it’s in uniform, in academia or laboratories,” said Carr. “Right now, half of all the students in college that begin to major in a science or technology course
of study don’t complete that course of study. They stop and
do something else. So, that’s a case where a student wanted
to, but either found it too hard or too time-consuming, or
sometimes just changed their mind, but that’s a mentoring
issue, to try and hang on to the ones that do try.
