ASU Graduate gets White House Appointment
Document Actions
Banneker Newsletter May 2008
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The challenge ahead is real. Opportunities in the fields of math and science abound, and African Americans must be positioned to take advantage of them. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Congress passed the America Competes Act. Wonderful, you say?! Not so fast. Zero dollars were appropriated for its implementation. Zero! Despite all the hoopla in the media regarding The Green Revolution, we still have a very long way to go to heighten national awareness of the need to act on what I refer to as the Sputnik of the 21st Century. This is the triple threat to our national security of global warming, energy independence, and national competitiveness. These are not unrelated challenges. My friend, Leon Feurth, calls them social tsunamis. They are on the move and will inexorably overtake us if we fail to act. I believe that African Americans are uniquely positioned to do the nation a great service in this regard. The Black science community in America is robust, and productive – not as large as it should be, could be, will be, but still quite substantial. I have been saying for over a year now that our assuming responsibility for promoting awareness of the importance of these issues, keeping them high on the national agenda, and participating actively in evolving solutions would have a salutary effect on the stature of Black scientists in America. We care about this at the Banneker Institute because our mission is to increase the number of African Americans involved in STEM fields. A prominent, active, and engaged Black science community would provide a wonderful backdrop against which to suggest to our young people that these fields could be a part of their future as well. For better and for worse, we have owned a piece of this great nation from the very beginning. While it is true that the nation’s economy was built on our backs, it is also true that Crispus Attucks, a Black man, was the first person to die in defense of this nation at the start of the American Revolution. I submit to you that the natural path of evolution from this position of sacrificial service is toward a position of service-oriented leadership in matters crucial to the nation’s survival. Join the Network of Networks and become a part of the solution! NETWORK OF NETWORKS ROUNDTABLE The Network of Networks referred to by Juan Williams in his Call to Action at the 2007 Banneker Awards Gala will be launched at a Capitol Hill Symposium on June 3rd with Majority Whip, Congressman James Clyburn serving as Keynote Speaker. The official convener of this symposium is Dr. John Slaughter, President of NACME. The Network of Networks represents the Banneker Institute’s organizations-based strategy for increasing the number of African Americans involved in STEM fields. It is a collaborative between Black science membership organizations and educators designed to increase the quality of science and math education available in educationally disadvantaged K-12 classrooms, and is a key element of the Decade of Blacks in Science launched by The Banneker Institute in 2007. The Network of Networks is formed in recognition of the fact that we will lose another generation of African American children unless we organize and align our own resources to address this problem now. We cannot afford to wait for the level of public concern to rise to the point of action. In addition to pursuing this educational objective, the Network of Networks will also mobilize Black scientists to add their voices, their unique perspectives, and their creativity to the national conversation surrounding important science policy issues like national competitiveness, alternative energy, and global warming. Envisioned is providing expert testimony at Congressional hearings, TV and radio talk show appearances, BLOGS, and production of articles, white papers, and issue briefs, and other high profile, policy-oriented activities. Our belief is that these activities will enhance the stature of Black scientist while at the same time provide encouraging examples to young African Americans considering careers in science. The planned June 3rd symposium will be a gathering of 75 – 100 leaders of science and education membership organizations who will have the opportunity to help shape the Network. If you are an educator, or an officer of a STEM oriented organization and would like to participate in this symposium, please go to www.thebannekerinstitute.org and register. The Decade of Blacks in Science is a campaign to mobilize, co-ordinate and coalesce the human and material recourses needed to solve the problem of the low level of participation of African Americans in STEM fields. It grew out of the Year of Blacks in Science declared by Catalyst in 2006, and is embarked upon in recognition of the amount of work it will take to close that gap between where we are and where we need to go. The response of the Black Science Community to this initiative has convinced us that we can move the needle of this important issue. The Decade of Blacks in Science has six programmatic components:
Join the Banneker Institute as a collaborating partner in pursuit of this important mission. The four possible levels of collaboration are: Click your level of interest to find out more. THE BENJAMIN BANNEKER LEGACY AWARDS GALA The Benjamin Banneker Legacy Award was created to recognize both institutions and individuals who have made and are continuing to make significant contributions to the mission of increasing the number of African Americans involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields of study and professions. The Award was established not to honor scientists, but to honor those investing in increasing the pool of Black Scientists. Recipients may themselves be scientists, but they could also include corporations, non-profit organizations, business and community leaders, educators and others who have occasion to affect the life choices that young people make. Five institutions and one individual are recognized annually. 2007 marked the introduction of the Benjamin Banneker Youth Legacy Award. Institutional Awards are granted to organizations and their internal champions who contribute significantly to the pursuit of the Banneker mission. Individual Awards are granted to persons who do so on their own initiative, through their own special efforts. The Benjamin Banneker Youth Legacy Award was created to provide recognition to young persons grades K-12 who excel both in science and in service to their communities. The 2nd annual awards were bestowed at the Benjamin Banneker Legacy Awards Gala in November of 2007. This event unleashed a very high energy collaborative spirit that we will rely on to carry the Banneker mission forward. Many of the corporations and organizations present at the Gala have their own programs designed to enhance the participation of African Americans in STEM fields. At the Gala they became a part of a community of like-minded individuals and organization and became convinced that, working together, we can and will move the needle on this important issue of national concern. We invite you to join this community and lend your special talents, insights and energize this cause!! The third annual Benjamin Banneker Awards Gala is scheduled for November 21, 2008. Our theme this year is Alignment, Accountability, and Leadership! Stay tuned to the Banneker website for more information about this event. Click Here to Nominate a 2008 Benjamin Banneker Legacy Award Candidate
For complete Finalist and Presenters biographies please click here STUDENT SHOWCASE The 2007 Student Showcase proved to be a tremendous success. The Students’ projects explored a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) topics including Microbial Fuel Cells, Genetics and Sickle Cell Anemia, Robotics, Flash Animation, and Rockets. The students gave outstanding presentations while answering questions from the crowds of gala attendees. To view photos of the 2007 Student Showcase, click here. Are you interested in STEM fields? Are you a member of a school or community club or group with a focus in one of these disciplines? Have you created a project, by yourself, with your class, or with a group that you feel is new, exciting, or innovative? Register for 2008 Benjamin Banneker Student Showcase and you could be selected to participate in this year’s Showcase! NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED national Summit on American Competitiveness For the first time in our lifetimes, every major country around the world is competing. Every country is innovating. Worldwide growth is unprecedented. China, India, Russia . . . everyone is in the game. Today, we’re here to discuss how America competes and wins in this environment. The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez hosted the inaugural National Summit on American Competitiveness on September 18, 2007. The event took place at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center Amphitheater in Washington, D.C. The summit built upon the four key economic drivers of competitiveness: the private sector, education and workforce issues, energy independence, and partnerships in innovation. This summit brought together premier leaders of the business, government, academia, and research communities. The agenda included panel discussions on: “The Competitive Challenge for America in the 21st Century”, “Education and Workforce: Skill Sets for the 21st Century” “Innovation Partnerships: Best Practices”, and “Energy: The Technology Path Forward”. The moderators for the panel discussions were CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Marburger, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton, and Secretary Gutierrez. 2008 Science and Engineering Indicators released by NSF The National Science Foundation recently released the Science and Engineering Indicators for 2008. SEI is first and foremost a volume of record comprising the major high-quality quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI is factual and policy-neutral. It does not offer policy options and it does not make policy recommendations. SEI employs a variety of presentational styles—tables, figures, narrative text, bulleted text, Web-based links, highlights, introductions, conclusions, reference lists—to make the data accessible to readers with different information needs and different information-processing preferences. To view the indicators please click here OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS The success of The Benjamin Banneker Institute for Science and Technology’s programs depend on the generous contributions of our partners. The following organizations have demonstrated a commitment to our mission. To learn more about sponsorship and collaboration opportunities, please click here. We would like to thank our new sponsors* for joining in support of the “Decade of Blacks in Science.”
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Project of Catalyst |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
