X-STEM Symposium

Nose picking is encouraged at the USA Science & Engineering Festival booth of AstraZeneca, and its biologics research and development arm, MedImmune. Visitors to the booth can “pick” a giant nose and learn how flu pandemics start. It's this type of hands-on science experience that inspires kids to pursue a STEM career. AstraZeneca and MedImmune feel strongly that they can have the greatest community impact where they have the greatest expertise. As a leading biopharmaceutical company, they have chosen to invest significantly in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.…

By USA Science & Engineering Festival Founder Larry Bock Edison´s contribution to those wondrous beacons of the holiday season is a poignant one. On a wintry night during the Christmas season of 1880 -- just weeks after introducing his revolutionary invention of the first practical incandescent light -- Edison, in a bold move to promote his new technology, wowed thousands of people in front of his Menlo Park lab with a live outdoor display of dozens of incandescent lamps strung together, creating the very first strand of electric lights. Two years later, Edison´s friend and associate,…

This past Tuesday, over 3,500 students, in grades 6-12, traveled to the Washington D.C. Convention Center to engage in presentations and hands-on workshops from some of the most creative and inspiring minds in STEM at the 2nd X-STEM Symposium. Sponsored by MedImmune, the X-STEM Symposium featured over 30 speaker presentations from advanced luminaries in STEM fields such as Dean Kamen, Inventor and Founder of FIRST; Dr. Aprille Ericsson from NASA; Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Founder of Qualcomm to young up and coming innovators like 13 year old Alyssa Carson, AKA the NASA Blueberry and 19 year old…

Innovation & Tech Today is a proud media partner of the USA Science & Engineering Festival. Committed to celebrating innovation and investing in our future, the USA Science & Engineering Festival perfectly complements the mission of I&T Today. In addition to covering the Festival in Washington D.C. in 2016, I&T Today is increasing STEM coverage in their new extended education section. Click here to read "The Latest Developments in STEMtech" featuring speakers from the USA Science & Engineering Festival's upcoming X-STEM Symposium! Read full blog here.

Guest Blog by USA Science & Engineering Festival X-STEM Speaker Louie Schwartzberg Albert Einstein remarked, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." He knew something that many scientists and engineers overlook in their quest for truth: nature holds the answers we're seeking! We're simply here to learn nature's language and laws and how we can interact with it. Every law of the universe can be witnessed by observing nature. In the west, we like to believe we arrive at facts once they've been scientifically validated. Truthfully, the facts were written…

Why can't we inspire kids to become just as excited about science and engineering as most are about sports and entertainment celebrities? Get ready as MedImmune, the global biopharmaceutical leader which wowed audiences as a major sponsor of the Festival's X-STEM Symposium last year, returns for Festival 2015 this spring to help answer this key question! Read more

Photo Credit: Focus Features In our recent STEM in the News Blog, read how science is making waves at the 87th Academy Awards, our Youth Advisory Board is working to encourage more girls to pursue computer science, stereotypes need to be shifted and students in middle and high school can attend the ultimate STEM field trip. Click here to read the full blog.

As Dean Kamen, inventor of such amazing technologies as the the Segway human transporter and one of the world's most advanced robotic arm prostheses, often says: "Our nation is enamored with sports and entertainment, but how can we groom kids to become as passionate about innovation?" At the Festival's fascinating all-day X-STEM Symposium, presented by MedImmune next spring, you'll not only meet Dean but also a compendium of other renowned STEM visionaries to explore the passion and excitement of innovation! Prepare to be amazed and inspired as X-STEM Extreme, set for Tuesday, April 28, 2015…

One only has to look at the impressive life and career of Dr. Bernard Harris to realize that he is indeed what he often describes himself as: "a dreamer who believes nothing is impossible." Trained as a physician, Bernard combined his talents and initiative to also serve as a scientist and astronaut at NASA (including becoming the first Black American to walk in space) and to later push the limits as a successful entrepreneur in the realm of space innovation, healthcare and science education. Watch the X-STEM Presentation below from Dr. Harris:  Read more about Dr. Harris here. On April 24,…

On April 24, 2014, an exclusive group of visionaries presented to over 4,000 students at the USA Science & Engineering Festival's inaugural X-STEM Symposium sponsored by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune. The all day event included interactive presentations and workshops with some of the top scientists and engineers in the country. In the presentation below, renowned oceanographer Dr. David Gallo dives into the unknown world deep under the sea to discuss ocean exploration, unexplored creatures and territory and the technology required to make it happen at the X-STEM Symposium.…

On April 24, 2014, an exclusive group of visionaries presented to over 4,000 students at the USA Science & Engineering Festival's inaugural X-STEM Symposium sponsored by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune. The all day event included interactive presentations and workshops with some of the top scientists and engineers in the country. Geneticist and Physician Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, captivated crowds with his journey to the NIH. Watch his presentation below:  http://youtu.be/o214CyMbJ2c?list=PLFxuEWfG5k6F2dH21LFhUCD7jYcLOLm4C After being…

Guest Blog by Dr. Catherine Mohr Senior Director of Medical Research, Intuitive Surgical USA Science & Engineering Festival X-STEM Speaker I work on surgical robots - at the intersection of cool, high tech, and helping people get well. One of the things I like most is that my job changes every day as I look for new technologies that might help us improve patient outcomes.  For example, one day we may play with new kinds of lasers for cutting bone, the next we are looking for new less invasive ways of accessing the body to do more effective surgeries, and the next we are looking out 10 to…

True to its mission of helping to advance STEM education in dynamic ways, the Northrop Grumman Foundation, a major sponsor of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, will take visitors up close and personal this April with one of the most ambitious projects today in space science: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. At Festival Expo 2014, get ready for fascinating updates on this endeavor from two Northrop Grumman leaders who are ushering in the Webb Telescope — the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The Webb Telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the…

Don't miss the opportunity to learn about the science of the paranormal from X-STEM Speaker Dr. Joe Schwarcz at the X-STEM Extreme STEM Symposium on April 24 ! Hear from this noted professor of chemistry from Canada's McGill University and how he uses his multi-faceted skills as a chemical scientist, magician, author, food expert and motivational speaker to inspire kids in science in fascinating ways! Learn how to register for the X-STEM Symposium by clicking this link. He's known to his many students and fans simply as "Dr. Joe," but then Joe Schwarcz, professor of chemistry, has always kept…

If you really want to protect the environment, it's not enough just to care about it; you need to learn and really understand something in order to protect it. That's the lesson that Dr. Paul Anastas' father taught him after bulldozers had destroyed the wetlands down the hill from his childhood home, turning what was once a place for adventure and natural beauty into parking lots and an office park. Paul clearly took this early lesson to heart. Widely known as the "Father of Green Chemistry," he has devoted his career to learning about how to create a more sustainable society. For him, this…

By Shawn Flaherty The first ever X-STEM: Extreme STEM Symposium—presented by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune—kicks-off the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo and Book Fair, hosted by founding and presenting sponsor Lockheed Martin.  Being held on April 24th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC, X-STEM is a “TED-style” event for kids with talks by 50 of the nation's most noted science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals representing top universities, corporations, non-profits, and governmental agencies. “X-STEM is the perfect…

African American scientists and engineers have made extraordinary contributions to STEM and high-tech innovation, and you'll meet some of these key pioneers at the Festival Expo's X-STEM Extreme STEM Symposium hosted by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune on Thursday, April 24 in Washington! In honor of National African American History Month, the Festival would like to acknowledge these trailblazers and their achievements as they prepare to present at this extraordinary event. The all-day symposium will bring students, teachers and others up close with these and other leading STEM…

X-STEM - presented by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune - is an Extreme STEM symposium for elementary through high school students featuring interactive presentations by an exclusive group of visionaries who aim to empower and inspire kids about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These top STEM role models and industry leaders are sure to ignite your students’ curiosity through storytelling and live demonstrations. Our spotlight on our X-STEM Speakers continues with Titanic Explorer Dr. David Gallo! The world deep beneath the surface of the ocean is a…