U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire teamed up with inventor
Dean Kamen this morning to unveil a new bill she hopes will funnel new
federal funding to extra-curricular educational programs focused on
science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Kamen, best known as
the inventor of the Segway and various medical devices, started such a
program in 1989, Manchester-based FIRST, that operates robotics competitions for more than 250,000 kids each year.
Shaheen’s bill would create a competitive grant program, called the Innovation Inspiration School Grant Program, that would help fund programs like FIRST. “The vision is to look at some of the things that are working to get kids excited about STEM subjects,” Shaheen told me in a phone interview just after this morning's announcement. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.) “That leads to more people going into those fields and it will help keep the country competitive.” The grant program will give top priority to schools in low income urban and rural areas, she said, and will require members of the community to be involved in the programs as mentors (as they are with the FIRST robotics program). Grant applicants will also need to find their own funding to match the federal contribution, 50-50.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Senator Shaheen proposes new federal grants to support sci-tech programs - Innovation Economy - Boston.com
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