Tufts' Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) this month received a $60,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic section of Verizon Communications Inc.
The grant will help fund CEEO's Student Teacher Outreach Mentorship Program (STOMP). STOMP, founded in 2001, pairs Tufts undergraduate engineering students with area science teachers in an attempt to draw elementary school students into the fields of science and technology,according to Director of Outreach Programs for CEEO and STOMP founder Merredith Portsmore.
The grant will help STOMP provide scholarships to a summer program for fourth− and fifth−grade girls, provide teachers in participating schools with training and fund STOMP's placement of paid undergraduate assistants in local classrooms, Portsmore said.
STOMP provides resources for science and technology education to public school teachers and students throughout Boston, Medford and Somerville, according to Portsmore. Participating Tufts engineering students each semester provide in−class assistance to the schools' teachers, she said.
The Verizon grant will partially go toward supporting a variety of classroom projects, Portsmore said. Past projects have incorporated toothpick bridges, Lego robotics and water filtration to reinforce engineering concepts, she added.
CEEO Director and Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chris Rogers said the additional funds would have wide−reaching effects.
"The Verizon grant will allow us to help more schools bring engineering in their classrooms," Rogers said in an email. "We have found that engineering in the classroom helps motivate science and math learning as well."
One of the aims of STOMP is to draw more female students into the field of engineering, Portsmore said, adding that exposure to scientific study at a young age can equate to interest further down the line.
"We are hoping to use it as a leverage point for future successes," Portsmore said.
She added that the absence of female role models may explain why fewer girls pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Verizon Foundation, which gave almost $67 million to U.S. nonprofit agencies in 2010, is enthusiastic about STOMP's efforts, according to Verizon spokesperson Phil Santoro.
"Verizon has a keen interest and long history of support for STEM education," Santoro said in an email to the Daily. "We are a high−tech company whose scientists, technologists and engineers are well−known and respected for their innovations in the field."
The Foundation chose to support STOMP particularly because of its push to correct the gender imbalance in the STEM fields, Santoro said.
"We recognize the need for more women in the field and the need to encourage more young women to consider pursuing careers in STEM," he said.
Engineering education is beneficial in helping students understand modern technology, Santoro said.
"As our world is more and more based on technology, I think it is critical for everyone to understand how the technology was developed so that we can, as a population, make wise decisions on things like sustainable energy [and] climate change," he said.
