LATEST NEWS & INFO Category: Students

Preparing today’s students to join tomorrow’s high-tech workforce is the aim of STEM educators. But some teachers might not realize that they should go beyond presenting the “book smarts” of science, technology, engineering and math in their classroom. The successful STEM employees of the future also might need “workplace smarts” such as collaboration, communication and networking skills. That’s where the Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy at Ohio State University comes in. The Battelle Center, on OSU’s Columbus […]

In December 2008, a young student named Clara Ma submitted a name for a project NASA then called the “Mars Science Laboratory.” With a 250 word essay, Clara suggested the name “Curiosity.” The Curiosity rover has covered over 13 miles of terrain on the Martian surface. Seven years later, the car-sized robotic explorer is the face of science on the red planet. This July, NASA’s next rover will launch. Today, NASA opened the contest for K-12 students to name the […]

NASA’s next robotic explorer to the Red Planet has many things. A ride to space: Launching July 2020 on an Atlas V rocket and landing in February 2021 A new, expanded rover design: 2,300 pounds of engineering and science equipment A mission: To answer key questions about the potential for life on Mars The one thing it’s missing? A name! Currently, the rover’s called “Mars 2020” but that’s a placeholder. This fall, it’s time christen the new rover with its […]

Last school year, two central Ohio boys came up with an idea to help disabled students get around school more easily. They called their invention the Desk Express, and their idea – fashioned into a small-scale prototype – has garnered awards from their school and in a statewide competition. The boys, Jack Monahan and Zach Rogers, are both seventh-graders at Heritage Middle School in the Westerville City School District. They recently traveled to Dearborn, Michigan for the National Invention Convention & […]

Editor’s note: For this week’s post we’re re-posting the very first essay contest winner. Teachers, your students could win a pizza party and even be featured on Greater Than STEM. Essays are due by May 31st. Detailed rules are posted here. Students, submit your essay here. Erica Barnes was the first winner of the Ohio STEM Learning Network high school essay contest. At the time, she was a junior at NIHF STEM High School in Akron, Ohio. We’ve published her […]

Last year, we ran our second student essay contest. We were thrilled by the responses from 300 students from across the state. Students wrote all about ocean pollution, food insecurity, foster care, and much more – but we wanted more people to hear their stories. So, we started a podcast to amplify students voices across Ohio and the world. We learned that no matter what the problem is, we can use our STEM skills to solve it – skills like […]

Every month, Greater Than STEM tells the story of one student solving one problem. We learn why it matters to them, why it should matter to us, and what we can all do to help. With some help from an expert in the field, we tackle topics like ocean pollution, foster care, and food insecurity in about 20 minutes. STEM students and professionals agree: to solve real-world problems, it takes more than good grades in four subjects. Tune in to […]

Photo credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead Kolesen McCoy, a recent graduate of Global Impact STEM Academy, attended the Rethink CTE Summit with academy Founding Director Josh Jennings. On Tuesday, we published Josh’s take on the summit and the presentation he shared there at the invitation of the U.S. Department of Education. Today, Kolesen talks with us about his role at the summit, plus shares information about his background and his current position as State President of the Ohio FFA Association: […]

Polymers — large molecules ranging from plastics and rubber to protein and DNA — have become commonplace, especially in Ohio’s industries. Our state is home to the largest polymer industry cluster in America and is recognized as a leader worldwide, according to PolymerOhio, an industry organization. And, Ohio is the No. 1 producer of both plastic and rubber products, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with 76 of the state’s 88 counties having at least one polymer company. That means 1,150 […]

Just two weeks ago, we hosted a full day of programming on the 2019 Ohio Design Challenge with our design challenge partners, Ohio Soybean Farmers and Ohio Corn and Wheat. We had a great group and learned about many resources students can use toward this year’s challenge: Work as a team to imagine, design and prototype a solution to increase food security in your life, community, or world. As a reminder, the design challenge process moves through steps. First, you define the problem. Just […]