Twenty-four local students this week began a program designed to help the nation's need for future leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.Engineering Innovation is a college-level course for high school students. The program, coordinated by the Workforce Development Board of Frederick County and Johns Hopkins University, was formed early this year to support the board's STEM skills development goals. Students who successfully complete the program will get three transferable credits from Johns Hopkins University. Frederick County Public Schools is a key partner in bringing the program to local students, providing laboratory and classroom space at Tuscarora High School. High school principals, guidance counselors and teachers recruited students for the program. Contributions from BNBI LLC at Fort Detrick underwrote the cost of the professor and teaching assistant. Other contributors were the Ausherman Family Foundation, SAIC-Frederick , Workforce Development Board Scholarship Fund, Frederick County Workforce Services, Frederick County Roundtable for Education and Morgan-Keller Construction. The instructor will be Karen McNeal Borgsmiller, who has been teaching chemistry at Hood College since 1999. She earned her doctorate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and previously worked for Exxon Research and Engineering Co. Paul Hoyt, a teacher at Tuscarora High School, will be the teaching assistant. One of the key projects of the program is the building of a "spaghetti bridge" designed to hold considerable weight. The class will conclude on July 24 with a bridge strength competition. For information on the program, visit engineering-innovation.jhu.edu/. More information is available from Lindsay Carroll or Amy Lynwander at Johns Hopkins University, 410-516-6224. To offer financial support for the program, call Laurie Holden, Frederick County Workforce Services, 301-600-2761.
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