SPIE-supported STEM programs reach thousands in 2012

Bellingham, WA--Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and outreach programs designed, implemented, and supported by members of SPIE reached thousands of students and others worldwide in 2012.

SPIE provided $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2012, meeting both its underlying educational mission as well as the desire of its members to give back to the community.

SPIE outreach in 2012 took the form of scholarships, participation in regional and national science festivals, educational laser programs in low-income schools, free or low-cost access by researchers in developing countries to the SPIE Digital Library, free educational materials including textbooks, posters, optics and telescope kits, science fair sponsorship and prizes, support for international teacher training and research institutes, travel grants, networking and mentoring events at SPIE events, scholarships, and education outreach grants for student chapters and other groups.

Education outreach grants are an important activity for SPIE Student Chapters, in particular. Chapter projects touched 34,954 people last year. Projects funded range from classroom demonstrations of lasers to multi-day programs in which students get hands-on experience in optics and photonics experiments.

At the Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques (ICFO; Barcelona, Spain), the SPIE Student Chapter ICONS helped organize a four-day science workshop providing high-school students with lectures and hands-on optics lessons, photonics lab tours, and information about photonic-oriented careers.

SPIE Member Nicoleta Dragomir, a researcher at Victoria University School of Biomedical and Health Sciences in Australia, used an SPIE education outreach grant to supply biophotonics equipment to five schools in regional Victoria. "It's a great opportunity for students to get a feel for how extraordinary science can be," she said. "Whether or not it makes them think about a career in science, it eliminates that fear of high technology."

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