March is STEM Month in Ohio

The State of Ohio is working to expand Ohioans' interest and achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with a month-long celebration of STEM education in March. Governor Strickland is hosting the first ever Ohio STEM Conference in Columbus on March 2, and STEM partners throughout the state will follow with regional conferences.

The first Regional STEM Conference will be hosted in Akron on March 10, 2010.

This Regional STEM Conference is open and free to the public, but registration is required. The goal of the conference is to celebrate and advance STEM activities and successes occurring throughout the region, and to help attendees learn about STEM . The conference will also highlight the connectivity of STEM happenings across all sectors -- private, public and non-profit, and begin to develop a communications network of local STEM partners.

The Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, Eric D. Fingerhut will be in attendance at the Regional STEM Conference, and it will feature a keynote luncheon with Jim West, a National Inventors Hall of Fame® Inductee. He is responsible for patenting the electret microphone which became widely used because of its high performance, accuracy, and reliability, in addition to its low cost, small size and light weight. Ninety percent of  today's microphones are electret microphones, and they are used in everyday items such as telephones, camcorders, and tape recorders.

Led by Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James, there will also be a panel with local leaders that considers the importance of partnerships across sectors in STEM. Networking opportunities and idea sharing sessions will also occur throughout the day.

One of the first sessions of the conference will be a STEM Showcase that highlights regional STEM work. Participation in this showcase is for regional K-12 schools, higher education institutions, businesses, community groups, non-profit organizations and elected officials, among others, to celebrate their STEM initiatives. This will be an informal, tabletop display or poster session. If you are interested in participating in the STEM Showcase, please visit http://tinyurl.com/AkronSTEM and complete the form. If you sign up to participate in the Showcase, you still need to officially register for the conference.

If you plan on attending the conference in a group, please include the total number of attendees when you register. Parking will be available at Quaker Square during the conference. For any questions or suggestions, please contact Alison White at 330.761.3195 or awhiteua@akron.k12.oh.us