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Synthetic biology is an emerging field that uses computation and design technology to modify biological cells for biological research and health applications. This new field is an important area for community involvement because synthetic biology has complex ethical implications and health applications. This project aims to engage youth and their families in this new field, which is largely inaccessible to...

Broadening access to STEM for members of the public can be challenging, as many STEM-focused media channels and recreational venues primarily cater to those with a pre-existing interest in STEM. This is especially problematic when learning about climate change because it is the most disenfranchised members of society who will likely bear the heaviest burden of its effects. Public festivals,...

The need for ultrathin (thickness in sub-2 nm) oxide semiconductor films with tunable electronic structures and functionalities arises from the steady trend of reducing device dimensions in electronics for advanced computing and artificial intelligence following the empirical Moore's law during the past few decades. New energy-efficient computing paradigms have emerged, such as neuromorphic computing (NC), which is inspired by how...

Fostering positive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity and providing access to quality STEM learning opportunities that connect with youths' local contexts and interests is essential for learning and growth. However, access to quality STEM education experiences can be limited among historically underserved youth. Furthermore, women and individuals identifying as Latinx or Black remain underrepresented in STEM fields. Responding...

Research shows the importance of children seeing themselves as capable of "doing STEM" and developing a positive STEM identity. Yet, children of color are less likely to have access to these informal STEM opportunities. Building on the successful "Science is Fun" (SIF) intervention, the project will revise this program for Hispanic students using a culturally-responsive approach. Facilitated by Hispanic, near-peer...

This project is an Expand AI Partnership between the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI), and the AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) at Georgia Tech, an NSF-sponsored AI institute focused on automated decision-making and mathematical optimization. In this project, a minority-serving institution leads a new collaboration with an AI Institute focused on scaling...

The Space Science Institute’s (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) was awarded funding from NASA’s TEAM II Program to develop and implement Moon, Mars, and Beyond. The project partnered with seven public libraries to: (1) increase youth and adult patrons’ interest in and engagement with the NASA’s Moon/Mars program, its contributions to STEM disciplines, and related STEM careers; (2)...

This is a final evaluation report of a NASA-funded project to provide a new STEM learning opportunity for youth to help address inequities in learning. The project involved designing, creating, and disseminating two "Learning Lunchbox Kits" that focused on the Artemis rocket and the James Webb Space Telescope. Each Kit contains five hands-on activities to learn about Space with with...

This project aims to serve the national interest by exploring community-based participatory research and relevant theories from disability studies and organizational change to implement inclusive practices for developmentally disabled employees, interns, and volunteers in informal STEM education settings such as zoos and aquariums. The investigator will implement a mentorship and professional learning plan specifically focused on three key areas: 1)...

With the support of the Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) Program, Professors Anthony Engler, Phillip Sprunger, Revati Kumar, and Christopher Marvel of Louisiana State University (LSU) will design, synthesize, and investigate new polymeric materials and processes for high-resolution patterning in semiconductor manufacturing. New research infrastructure will be installed at the LSU Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) synchrotron that will...

This document is a reference for the sustainable materials & processes that were used in Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s 2000sf Creatividad silvestre / Wild Creativity exhibition....

Despite the interconnected nature of the world, traditional science disciplines, such as physics and biology, are often presented in isolation. Through a partnership between Aztec dancers and Western trained scientists, this partnership project seeks to bridge multiple knowledge systems to co-design and develop a clear pathway for Western and Indigenous knowledge to inform and generate new approaches to informal science...

Although the number of refugee groups has increased across the United States in recent decades, many groups do not have opportunities to engage in quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning opportunities, embedded within a comprehensive systems-wide approach to understanding and advancing the refugees' goals and planned trajectories. To address this issue, this project will result in the development...

This project will broaden participation in engineering by developing learning resources through which Black families have opportunities to engage in engineering practices and to see themselves as part of the engineering community. The research team will co-develop informal learning resources with Black families in which children, ages six to ten, have opportunities to engage in biological, civil, computer, electrical, environmental,...

By the time they enter middle school, many youth have opted out of engineering pathways due to limited exposure to engineering fields and a lack of encouragement or support. This project will address this issue by developing and testing a promising model of informal engineering programming designed to foster engineering identities among youth aged 9-12. This model will iterate on...

This project will broaden participation in engineering by developing learning resources through which Black families have opportunities to engage in engineering practices and to see themselves as part of the engineering community. The research team will co-develop informal learning resources with Black families in which children, ages six to ten, have opportunities to engage in biological, civil, computer, electrical, environmental,...

This project will broaden participation in engineering by developing learning resources through which Black families have opportunities to engage in engineering practices and to see themselves as part of the engineering community. The research team will co-develop informal learning resources with Black families in which children, ages six to ten, have opportunities to engage in biological, civil, computer, electrical, environmental,...

Black residents of North St. Louis have historically experienced significant social, economic, and educational, and economic disparities, including a lack of access to due high quality STEM education resources. A public-private partnership between a science research center and city libraries will co-develop a community-focused game, designed to meet the interests and needs of the community's Black and economically disadvantaged adults....

The project aims to establish a Research and Education Center for Quantum Materials and Sensing at Bryn Mawr College, a Women's College with a small co-educational graduate program. The Center plans to integrate resources from higher education, an existing NSF-funded quantum center at the Johns Hopkins University, national labs, and industry to advance research in quantum materials and quantum sensing...

This project aims to elevate Florida A&M University (FAMU), a leading Historically Black College and University, to the forefront of Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE). The project is structured around three strategic goals. Firstly, the project collaborates with leading external experts to develop cutting-edge QISE research, featuring four synergistic activities leveraging quantum fluids and solids: advancing an emerging qubit...

Fostering STEAM, funded by NSF grant “Collaborative Research: Advancing professional development and broadening participation in informal science learning via the integration of the science and art of color,” provided professional development to informal educators – librarians, science center staff, and after school program staff – through a three-part professional development program that included: 1) in-person workshops that leveraged the Colors...

In this online resource, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) provides nine modules (one currently under development). Each module addresses a topic – some which have long been part of exhibit design, and others that are more current or trending. Topics include prototyping, graphic design, accessibility, and participatory co-development of bilingual exhibits with stakeholder communities....

The second annual National Rural STEM Summit engaged formal and informal rural educators, administrators, professionals, and organizations in cross-community, cross-sector conversations to share effective STEM teaching and engagement models across different settings. The Summit was held June 5-7,2024, at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona. Attendees included 140 participants and 41 presenters and speakers from the...

Solid materials inevitably have defects such as missing atoms and impurities of a different kind of atom. These defects can have discrete energy levels like an individual atom, providing quantum states which can be used for applications in quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communications. This project uses computational theory to understand the fundamental properties of such defects and identify...

Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) is on the verge of transforming many technologies including computing, sensing and communications. Individual 'particles' of light, photons, are ideal carriers of quantum information over large distances. This project is focused on the development of quantum light sources that produce pairs of photons, which provide an essential resource for QISE, that is also compatible...