Battelle STEM Experts to Attend White House Meeting

Science, technology, engineering and math serve as the foundation for Battelle's business. Our scientists and researchers rely on their STEM expertise every day to drive innovation. This drives our conviction that all young people deserve a strong education in STEM, and for years, we’ve worked with and managed a variety of public and private partnerships to bring quality STEM education to millions of students across the United States. 

Three of our education leaders were recently invited to the State-Federal STEM Education Summit hosted at The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on June 25-26. 

• Wes Hall leads the national STEMx^TM network with members in 19 states and territories.
  
  

• Heather Sherman directs the Ohio STEM Learning Network, which represents regional STEM hubs and STEM schools.
  
  

• David Burns advises the development of these networks in addition to Battelle’s other major education initiatives including the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and management of the Army Educational Outreach Program. 

At the meeting, we’ll work with other attendees in the development of a new federal five-year STEM Education Strategic Plan in compliance with America COMPETES Act of 2010.

In a media advisory about the meeting, Jeff Weld, senior policy advisor and assistant director for STEM education at OSTP, called attention to impact of state and local leadership on STEM: “Top-down approaches to STEM education can often yield wonderful ideas, but it’s at the State and community level where the momentum happens.” 

Alongside OSTP in planning and carrying out this summit are the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Smithsonian Institution. STEM leaders from all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories and tribes, will attend the summit to illuminate and advance state-federal STEM alignment.

In 1976, Congress established OSTP to provide the President and others within the Executive Office of the President with advice on the scientific, engineering and technological aspects of the economy, national security, homeland security, health, foreign relations, the environment and the technological recovery and use of resources, among other topics. OSTP also leads interagency science and technology policy coordination efforts, assists the Office of Management and Budget with an annual review and analysis of federal research and development in budgets, and serves as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the federal government.