Naval STEM Highlights Student Outreach 2021 Efforts by U.S. Navy Warren Duffie, Office of Naval Research
December 27, 2021
The 2021 year was busy ... as the
Department of the Navy’s (DoN) Naval STEM Coordination Office, which
is located at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), expanded its
offerings for high school and college students.
activities included a flight academy; a virtual question-and-answer
event with astronauts working at the International Space Station;
and an online essay contest aimed at introducing students to STEM
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) topics impacting
the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
“Naval STEM aims to inspire, cultivate and
develop exceptional talent by providing a continuum of opportunities
for students,” said Chief of Naval Research (CNR) Rear Adm. Lorin C.
Selby. “This empowers them to apply their academic knowledge in a
real-world context through internships and summer programs,
conducted both virtually and at naval facilities.”
The DoN Naval STEM Coordination Office
oversees investments in education, outreach and workforce
initiatives. This enables the U.S. to cultivate the technical
workforce needed to keep the Navy and Marine Corps on the leading
edge of scientific and technological innovation.
professionals at DoN laboratories and centers provide unique STEM
experiences to students and educators to supplement the knowledge,
skills and abilities developed in the classroom and school setting,”
said Sandy Landsberg, who is both the Naval STEM Coordination Office
executive and a division director in ONR’s Information, Cyber and
Spectrum Superiority Department.
Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) summer
student interns with NSMRL staff show their projects on August 12, 2021. Each summer, NSMRL hosts high school and college interns through the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science and Engineering Apprentice Program (SEAP) and Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP). (U.S. Navy
photo by Erica Casper)
“The chance for students to put what they
learn into practice benefits both them and the DoN,” Landsberg
continued. “This application of their knowledge could potentially
result in solutions to real-world, naval challenges.”
Naval STEM highlights include:
1. Virtual and hybrid
options to ONR's Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program
(NREIP) and Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP).
These are the DoN’s premier STEM internship programs and have been
traditionally in-person initiatives. NREIP is a 10-week
undergraduate and graduate research internship opportunity at one of
nearly 30 naval laboratories or warfare centers. SEAP is an
eight-week high school apprenticeship opportunity at one of nearly
25 naval laboratories or warfare centers. This summer, 570 college
interns participated in NREIP and 176 high school interns in SEAP.
Both programs also unveiled new websites and social media sites this
2. NREIP Fall Engagement. NRIEP Fall engagement was a
short-term virtual internship designed to introduce college students
to cutting-edge naval science and technology research. The
internship also provided students mentoring with DoN scientists and
engineers. This internship is a spin-off of NREIP and broadens
student participation by offering the opportunity to students who
were not accepted into NREIP or had to decline the NREIP offer. This
year’s program served over 200 students across 15 Navy laboratories
and warfare centers.
3. The Naval Horizons student essay
contest. This initiative was designed to introduce high school and
college students to cutting-edge topics impacting the Navy and
Marine Corps. It does so through engaging online videos covering
more than 20 research areas—including autonomy, oceanography,
cybersecurity and undersea medicine. The video series highlights a
diverse set of naval scientists, engineers and interns who discuss
their work to increase awareness of naval S&T challenges.
This past summer, a second contest was held, where high school
students watched the videos and then submitted a short essay
explaining how they were inspired by naval research and the naval
workforce. Broad participation resulted in more than 9,000 video
views and over 400 students selected as winners of cash prizes.
Moreover, participation of underrepresented students was
4. Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
(NJROTC) Flight Academy. This new effort, in partnership with the
Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Commander, Naval Air
Forces is an eight-week program that offered students affiliated
with NJROTC the opportunity to earn a Federal Aviation
Administration private pilot’s license. Four students, none of whom
had prior flight experience, earned their licenses. The STEM
curriculum included aviation academics (weather, human factors
design, etc.) as well as 45 hours of flight training, including 17
hours of solo flying.
5. National Intern Day Astronaut
Downlink. Naval STEM coordinated with the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) in honor of National Intern Day on July
29. NASA hosted a downlink conversation with astronauts serving at
the International Space Station. The astronauts answered questions
submitted to Naval STEM by NREIP and SEAP interns from five naval
laboratories and warfare centers.
6. National Defense Science
and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Conference. Naval STEM,
DoN executives and senior research scientists participated in the
2nd Annual NDSEG Fellowship Conference in July. The Department of
Defense (DoD) Fellowship Program is sponsored by the U.S. Army, Navy
and Air Force to promote science and engineering education, by
awarding fellowships to promising U.S. scientists to pursue doctoral
degrees in STEM research disciplines.
provided fellowship recipients with the opportunity to meet and
network with current and former fellows, as well as DoD senior
officials and scientists and engineers. Attendees also learned about
DoD employment, internships, mentorships and other research funding
opportunities. DoN highlights included overviews of the Naval
Research Enterprise and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), given
respectively by Dr. Jason Stack—ONR director for Ocean, Atmosphere
and Space Research, and chair of the Intelligent Autonomous Systems
Strategy Development Team—and Dr. Bruce Danly, NRL director of
7. 59th National Junior Science and Humanities
Symposium (NJSHS). In April, Naval STEM participated in the NJSHS,
providing science fair judges sponsorship, and congratulatory
remarks from CNR Selby during the awards ceremony. JSHS is a DoD
program encouraging high school students to conduct research,
collaborate with mentors and experts, and grow their skills and
talents. NJSHS brings together top students who qualify by
presenting original scientific research papers at regional symposia.
All regional finalists are invited to present their research at the
NJSHS to compete for scholarships and cash awards. This year, over
$200,000 was awarded to 48 winners in the oral and poster
8. Participation in the Navy League’s
Sea-Air-Space STEM Exposition on Aug. 1. DoN hosted 10 booths with
hands-on STEM activities geared toward students in grades five
through 12. The engagement provided an opportunity to introduce
students to the DoN as well as STEM topics and challenges that
impact the Navy. Since this was the first in-person STEM event the
Naval STEM team had participated in since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic, it included new protocols to ensure the health and safety
of all participants.
9. DoD STEM Education and Outreach
Advocate of the Quarter (SAQ) Winners. Each quarter, DoD STEM
recognizes exceptional civilians, uniformed personnel or teams who
have gone above and beyond in STEM education and outreach with the
DoD SAQ award. Only four awards are given each year. In 2021, the
DoN received two awards.
10. Buffalo Navy Week and Columbia
Navy Week. Navy Weeks serve as outreach efforts to educate Americans
about how the Navy is deployed around the world and why a strong
Navy is vital to protecting the American way of life. This year,
Naval STEM coordinated with the Navy Office of Community Outreach
and the U.S. Naval Academy to host STEM outreach for elementary
through high school students and educators during the Buffalo (New
York) and Columbia (South Carolina) Navy Weeks. Integrating Naval
STEM content into the Navy Weeks introduces students to science and
technology careers supporting DoN.
11. Freshman Scholar
Transition to Academic Research and Technology (FreshSTART).
FreshSTART is a five-week Naval Summer Bridge Boot Camp launched by
the DoN Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority
Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program, located at ONR. FreshSTART hosts
incoming HBCU/MI freshmen interested in earning an undergraduate
degree in a STEM discipline. It provides students with intense
exposure to a STEM course workload and activities, with the goal of
increasing academic success during the freshman year. Courses
include chemistry, physics, calculus, computer programming and “soft
skills” such as public speaking, networking and professional
development. Florida A&M University hosted the pilot program
virtually with the intent of expanding it onsite as well as at other
Warren Duffie Jr. is a contractor for ONR
Corporate Strategic Communications.
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