The U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) has partnered with the New Hampshire Academy of Science (NHAS) to increase STEM education opportunities for middle and high school students in the Upper Valley.
The two organizations signed an Education Partnership Agreement on April 10, authorizing ERDC-CRREL to support NHAS in a number of ways, including but not limited to providing laboratory personnel to teach and assist in the development of science courses and materials, mentoring NHAS students engaged in research, providing sabbatical and internship opportunities, involving faculty and students in laboratory projects, and loaning or gifting surplus scientific equipment.
ERDC-CRREL hopes that the partnership will promote the study of STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics — in the Upper Valley, and expose students to the careers available and research conducted at U.S. Army research laboratories.
“We are excited to inspire and empower the next generation of research scientists,” said Dr. Ivan Beckman, ERDC-CRREL’s acting director. “By providing students with access to our accomplished researchers and real-world research opportunities, we hope to cultivate a passion for STEM and equip students with the skills necessary to someday tackle the many complex challenges faced by our region, nation and world.”
For NHAS, a Lyme, New Hampshire-based afterschool program that supports high school and middle school students who wish to perform original STEM research in an authentic scientific laboratory, exposure to the research performed at ERDC-CRREL and the scientists and engineers who conduct it is invaluable to students.
“CRREL has much to offer our region’s educational community in this partnership,” said Dr. Peter Faletra, executive director of NHAS. “We are expecting wonderful outcomes.”
ERDC-CRREL’s partnership with NHAS is just one way in which the laboratory is supporting local STEM education.
This summer it will host a weeklong camp for 7th and 8th graders at Hanover's Richmond Middle School. Entitled, "Explore Weather, Climate, and the Environment”, the camp will take place June 25-28, and feature a hands-on opportunity for the scientific exploration of the weather, climate, and the environment.