Battelle to Lead U.S. Army's STEM Programs

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwired - October 12, 2015) - Battelle has won a cooperative agreement award to manage the United States Army's $185 million Army Educational Outreach Program for as long as 10 years.

Click here to see a video overview of the program.

Battelle will lead a team of nine organizations that will administer Army educational programs as well as providing communication, program evaluation, strategic outreach and alumni management. The consortium includes Education First, Widmeyer Communications, MetriKs Amérique, Purdue University, the Academy of Applied Sciences, National Science Teachers Association, Technology Student Association and Tennessee Technological University.

Media supplement -- Read the Battelle Insider blog: We’ll lead the U.S. Army’s coalition of STEM programs, here’s why we’re excited.

Battelle has long been dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and also has extensive experience in managing large organizations that perform complex tasks. This background will help Battelle bring a cohesive, systematic approach to meet the Army’s goals and focus on efficiency across the consortium while expanding the appropriate programs to reach more students.

Today, the Army’s programs recognize the need for a diverse, agile and skilled STEM talent pool and reach more than 35,000 students and teachers across the country. By 2025, the consortium aims to nearly double its reach by recruiting more than 65,000 participants.

"Battelle is proud to have a long history of collaboration with the U.S. Army," said Battelle President and CEO Jeff Wadsworth. "We will provide the same level of dedication and excellence to programs that grow the America's future servicemen and women as we do to the innovations that help keep them safe."

Battelle's expertise in launching STEM organizations includes the Ohio STEM Learning Network, Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, and national STEMx network. The winning proposal calls for these networks to play a key role in expanding the impact of the Army’s educational programs.

"The programs brought together under this initiative are some of the country's most forward-thinking assets in STEM," said Aimee Kennedy, Vice-President of Education, STEM Learning and Philanthropy at Battelle. "Under this plan we will be able to bring new opportunities to students across the country."

Current programs include:

• Apprenticeship programs that provide high school and college students with real world, hands-on research experiences in Army research laboratories and universities
• Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science, a summer STEM enrichment program for students in grades 5-12 held at participating Army research laboratories for one to four weeks during the summer
• Camp Invention, which prepares underserved students at the elementary school level to be competitive for STEM studies and the Army Educational Outreach Program pipeline of STEM opportunities
• UNITE is a four to six week pre-collegiate summer program, hosted at higher education institutions, for talented high school students from groups historically underserved and under-represented in STEM areas
• Research Experiences for STEM Educators and Teachers is designed to provide teachers and educators from “high need” areas a summer research experience at participating Army laboratories
• Junior Solar Sprint is a solar car competition for students in grades 5-8, in which teams design, build and race solar electric vehicles
• eCYBERMISSION provides virtual learning experiences to students in grades 6-9 across the United States, its territories and Department of Defense Educational Activity school sites
• Junior Science & Humanities Symposium is a tri-service program that promotes original research in STEM at the high school level and publicly recognizes students for outstanding research achievements

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJlxGrpnxuc&feature=youtu.be