4. Tech Savvy Generation
5 Years Old
> 22 Years Old 8 Years Old
12 Years Old
18 Years Old
5. Decline in Engineering Education
• 50% decline in student interest
• 14% decline in degrees
awarded to US students
Source: National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators
6. The Big State of Texas . . .
• 4.4 million Students in Public Education
• 1700 High Schools
– 1.2 million Students, 215,000 Graduates
Out of every 100 9th grade students (15 years old)
– 11 with graduate with a degree in 3 to 6 years
LESS THAN 2 WITH ENGINEERING/SCIENCE DEGREE!
7. What Makes Engineers/Scientists Tick?
78%
Wanted to invent, build or design things 77%
80%
71%
Wanted to solve real world problems 72%
71%
36%
For the prestige/job/salary opportunities 32%
41%
30%
A family member is an engineer 28%
32%
19%
To have a positive influence on the environment 16%
22%
Boys- “let’s make some noise” are engineers 14%
Friends 12%
15%
Gilrs- “how is whattheam doing were available
For I scholarships that
7%
6%
8%
relevant too…” 11%
Other 11%
10%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Students (n=403) Engineers (n=426) Total (n=827)
–IEEE Profession Image Study
8. From Play to Real-World Applications
Sanarus Medical RoMeLa DARwIn Nexans Spider
9. What are we to do?
How can we make Engineers and Scientist like sports
heroes?
12. 12,700
$72,920
U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Number of Pro Athletes in the U.S.
Average pay of Pro Athletes in the U.S.
13. How much money do Engineers make?
1,512,000
$82,090
U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The number of engineers
The average pay of electrical engineers
14. Robotics vs Mechatronics
• Robotics- application area and discipline
• Mechatronics- multi-disciplinary approach to
solve engineering problems, like Robotics
15. STEM in Education
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
• Integrate theory with hands-on examples
• Project-based learning
• Foster creativity…design, design, design
16. Critical Elements of STEM Programs
• Economically Viable
• A Vision and Plan for National Adoption
• Comprehensive Curriculum
• Major Public and Private Support
• Integrated with Commercial Technology
• Capable of Changing our Culture
17. Example US STEM Programs
• LEGO Education
– legoeducation.com
• The Infinity Project
– infinity-project.org
• Project Lead The Way
– pltw.org
• Vernier Sensors
– vernier.com
• FIRST
– usfirst.org
• T-STEM Initiative
– cftexas.org/thsp_initiatives_science.htm
18. Using Toys to Teach
• 1997
– Joint development with LEGO, NI and Tufts
• 2008
– >500,000 students world-wide
19. Learning the Engineering Process
Design and Build
Create a Program on
Look for ways to
the Computer
make better
Download and Run
20. Lego Local Outreach Program
Austin, Texas
12 School Districts
>60 Schools
> 7,000 Students
>250 Trained Educators Trained Educators & NI Mentors K-12 Students RoboLab Mentor Hours
6000 18000
16000
5000
14000
Program Replication 4000 12000
10000
3000
8000
2000 6000
4000
1000
2000
0 0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
21. • 100,000+ Students in 44+ countries
• 50,000+ volunteers with today’s Engineers
as Mentors on teams
FIRST Robotics Competition
Learn (High-School Ages)
- Mechatronics FIRST Technical Challenge
(High-School Ages)
- Gracious Professionalism
FIRST LEGO League
(Ages 9-14 years old)
Junior
FIRST LEGO League
(Ages 6-9 years old)
–K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Grade Level
22. Make Engineering and Science Fun!
Progressive Software Programming Paradigm- meet the needs of
students of all ages and abilities.
Tools with Strong Industry Usage – students learn skills they can use in
college and careers.
23. Types of Robotic Applications
Mil/Aero Research
06-7 NSF Robotic Funding
Autonomous $97,154,989
Supervisory
Tele-operated
Agriculture/ Personal/
Industrial Service/Home
7.2M*
1.8M*
*estimated in service robots 2010
24. Emergence of Parallel Technologies and the
Commercial Impact upon Robotics
Robotics Application
Network
Data User
Control
Collection Interface Comm.
THREAD
Operating System
CPU Core CPU Core
CPU Core CPU Core
25. What to tell Corporate Management
Our future depends upon making Science and Engineering more fun!
1. Invest in leveraged programs that scale
2. Invest in technology programs and its curriculum
3. Work with Colleges and Universities that work with K - 12
4. Don’t just show up for your school’s Engineer’s Day
5. Ask your CEO to frequently contact state government about
STEM programs
Do we have another option?
