Rep. Rush Holt to observe students implementing Stevens’ Engineering Our Future NJ program at Rumson Country Day School, May 15

HOBOKEN , N.J. — US Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ 12 th District) will visit the Rumson Country Day School to witness fourth grade students doing engineering design and problem-solving as part of an initiative Stevens Institute of Technology has launched throughout the state called Engineering Our Future NJ (EOFNJ). EOFNJ is a project being implemented in 32 K-12 schools throughout New Jersey that engages students in applying science and mathematics to solve relevant, real-world engineering problems. The congressman’s visit to the school will take place Monday, May 15, 9:30-10:15 a.m., Rumson Country Day School, 35 Bellvue Avenue, Rumson, N.J.

Media are welcome to attend and should e-mail or call the media contact listed on this release.

Rep. Holt, a former research scientist in the area of plasma physics, is a leader in Congress on increasing federal support for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Personnel from Stevens Institute of Technology’s Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE), which is leading the EOFNJ program, will support Rumson Country Day School teacher Robert Kelly during the classroom activity. (For more information on the center, please visit ciese.org) EOFNJ is an initiative launched by CIESE; the center is directed by Beth McGrath .

The fourth graders will be working on a lesson from “Water, Water Everywhere: Designing Water Filters,” one of the units being used in the EOFNJ program. This unit is part of an elementary-level pre-engineering curriculum called, “Engineering is Elementary,” developed by the National Center for Technological Literacy at the Museum of Science, Boston. “Engineering is Elementary” consists of a series of engineering and technology lessons for children. (For more information, please visit mos.org/eie)

As part of their team projects, the students will test and compare various filter materials to determine which work best for cleaning different kinds of contaminated water. In a later lesson they will build and design their own water filters. Instructors will tie this unit in with environmental studies, particularly with issues involving water pollution.

About Engineering Our Future New Jersey

The goal of EOFNJ is to ensure that all children in New Jersey experience pre-engineering curricula, with a focus on innovation, as a required component of their elementary, middle, and high school education within the next five years. By exposing all students (not merely those who self-select to take elective courses) to hands-on design and problem-solving and the application of science and mathematics principles toward the solution of relevant, real-world problems earlier in their K-12 education, EOFNJ seeks to motivate more students and more underrepresented groups will be to take and succeed in gatekeeper courses in middle and high school; attain baccalaureate and advanced engineering and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees; and pursue engineering and other STEM careers. Such a talent pool is critical to fortify America ’s – and particularly New Jersey ’s – economic future, which depend on innovation and invention, and to advance technology’s frontiers to address pressing national and social challenges.

About CIESE

CIESE is Stevens Institute of Technology’s primary K-12 outreach center and offers professional development for teachers in science, technology, pre-engineering, and mathematics for elementary through high school teachers. CIESE’s online classroom projects currently attract participation from more than 100,000 students from 35 countries around the world. For more information about CIESE and its free online curriculum resources, visit ciese.org

About the National Center for Technology Literacy, Museum of Science, Boston

Supported by corporate, foundation, and federal funding, the National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL) at the Museum of Science , Boston aims to enhance knowledge of technology and inspire the next generation of engineers, inventors, and innovators. The NCTL ’s goal is to introduce engineering as early as elementary school and continue it through high school, college, and beyond. The NCTL works with leaders in education, government, and industry to integrate engineering as a new discipline in schools K-12 by aligning state standards, developing curricula, and offering teachers opportunities to enhance skill sets. For more information, visit nctl.org.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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