4. Outreach Programs
Studies by the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences have indicated that in order to meet the scientific and economic challenges expected in the year 2000 the nation will need to attract and retain more students in degree completion activities in science, mathematics, and engineering. Approximately 70 percent of the adults entering the work force between now and the 21st century will be women and minorities. Yet, women and minorities are two groups historically under-represented and underutilized in science and engineering. To counteract this trend, DoD task force studies have urged the creation of intervention programs designed to increase the availability of scientific, engineering, and technical skills in the DoD work force. A number of these Army outreach efforts are described in this section.
a. Women in Science and Engineering
There is a significant underrepresentation of women in engineering and the physical sciences, compared with their participation in the general workforce. Despite significant increases during the last generation, only about 9 percent of all working engineers are women, and in recent years the proportion of new women engineering graduates has remained constant at about 16 percent. Absent significant intervention or major social change, the proportion of women in engineering is therefore likely to increase gradually and then level off. Perhaps because of their scarcity and/or because only the best survive, women engineering graduates receive 103 percent of the starting salary of men.
The Army has outreach activities whereby it employs women college students from local universities, studying engineering and the sciences, in a cooperative education program that alternates school and work cycles. High school and college summer employment opportunities are also available (Figure VII-4). In addition there are employment programs for women instructors in high school and higher education who are interested in keeping current in their areas of technical expertise.
Figure VII-4. Army Outreach Programs Include Attracting Women Scientists and Engineers
The Army actively ensures promotion opportunities for both women and minorities. All proposed selections to senior- and executive-level science and engineering career positions are carefully reviewed before the development of candidate referral lists. A mandatory recruitment/outreach plan is formulated to locate all best qualified women and minorities. The entire process is audited at the Army major command level.
b. Youth Sciences Activities
A major need for the future U.S. competitive edge is maintaining or increasing the scientific and technical human resources available to both the government and private sectors. To accomplish this, education, especially in science, mathematics, and technology, is critical.
Many Army laboratories have outreach programs which are actively supporting innovative ways to improve science and technology education and improve the cost effectiveness of local school systems. These initiatives to support educational systems, at all levels, are accomplished under a wide variety of established programs such as adopt-a-school, education partnerships, and student/faculty employment programs.
Services provided by hundreds of Army scientists and engineers have helped to improve science, mathematics, and technology education through such contributions as technical lectures, career education, science fair judges, field trips, mentors for student research projects, library support, computer support, loaning/donating surplus equipment, providing students an opportunity to work on defense laboratory research projects for academic credit, and teaching classes or assisting in the development of courses and materials.
A key element of education is the classroom teacher. To keep up with the changing world of science and technology, classroom material taught must be continually updated so that students are prepared to take their places in a more technologically complex world. This means teachers have to be updated. They can't teach what they do not know. They can't prepare their students for a career in a work world they haven't seen. Army laboratory personnel are working with teachers from school systems throughout the nation to enable them to experience firsthand some of the recent changes in science and technology and to develop methods for discarding out-dated information and incorporating the new material into the classroom.
School systems have derived substantial benefits from direct involvement with key scientists and engineers at Army laboratories, as evidenced by numerous awards, certificates, and letters of appreciation for Army support in partnership programs in math, science, and technology programs with local school systems.
The Army also sponsors a number of specific youth programs at the high school and pre-college levels to promote participation in science and engineering activities. For example:
- The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) was initiated by the Army in 1958 and joined by the Office of Naval Research in 1995. Its activities promote research and experimentation at the high school level, identify and recognize talented youth and teachers, and increase the country's pool of young adults interested in pursuing careers in the sciences. JSHS reaches over 10,000 students and 250 teachers annually.
- The Uninitiates Introduction to Engineering (UNITE) program provides socially and economically disadvantaged secondary school students with tutorial assistance, primarily in mathematics. Through their participation, these students can acquire the prerequisites for beginning science and engineering careers in college. The program began in 1980. At least 2,254 students have participated during its first 14 years. Of these, 71 percent had enrolled in college through 1994, with 51 percent enrolling in technical fields, 44 percent in engineering, and 5 percent pursuing the humanities.
- The Research and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (REAP) is a cooperative work-study program that gives high school students hands-on experience in R&D activities through interactions with mentors. Drawn from socially and economically disadvantaged groups, as defined in P.L. 95-507, these students are selected on the basis of their potential to pursue careers in science and engineering. The program began in 1980. At least 1,700 students have participated through 1996. Of these, 90 percent entered college, with 86 percent of these undertaking engineering or science studies.
- The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) was started by eastern European countries following World War II. As a means to encourage young mathematicians, the United States began participating in 1976 with the selection of an American team under the auspices of the Mathematical Association of America. Along with the Navy, the Army contributes to this effort by providing funds. Annually six American students (from over 400,000 that compete) and three coaches travel to the site of the Olympiad for approximately 10 days of individual competition. American students often achieve first place honors at the IMO, which is one of the most prestigious competitions in mathematics at this level. In 1994, each U.S. team member scored a perfect score on their testing for the first time in the history of the program.
- Since 1960, the Department of the Army has sponsored special awards in the nationwide Science and Engineering Fairs as a means to stimulate and encourage the future technical development of our nation's youth. Army personnel participate as judges in regional, state, and international fair competitions and present awards on behalf of the Secretary of the Army. The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) brings together two students from each of approximately 400 regional and state science fair competitions that involve over 100,000 high school students. Winners in 13 scientific and engineering categories are each awarded a certificate of achievement, a $3,000 prize, and a gold medallion. In addition, one student is selected to attend the London International Youth Science Forum at the University of London, where students from over 35 nations participate in a 2-week program of scientific lectures and cultural tours. Two students are selected to visit Tokyo as part of an exchange program between the United States and Japan, where the two Army winners are recognized at the Japan Student Science Awards Ceremony. The three trip winners each receive a certificate of achievement, a medallion, a $3,000 prize and $150 from the Association of the United States Army.
- The National Science Center (NSC), established by Public Law 99-145, is designed to increase interest in science, math, and technology among students, improve the skills of teachers, and provide math and science education support in the classroom. The Center offers hands-on workshops/camps for students and teachers in science, math, electronics, and computers. In addition, the NSC operates a Discovery Center which offers school groups and the general public interactive experiences with scientific exhibits. A mobile version of the Discovery Center travels to schools across the country. The NSC also reaches out nationally with satellite teleconference programs on science education. Finally, the Center offers a Science-by-Mail program, which encourages a pen pal relationship between students and scientists, and a STARLAB program, which ends portable planetariums to classrooms for instruction in space science, astronomy, geography, and biology. At the direction of the Chief of Staff of the Army, the NSC is expanding its programs to target audiences in inner cities and rural areas nationwide. Over 80,000 participants will be touched by NSC programs, both on and off site, in 1996. 5.