As I observed dozens of Rensselaer student volunteers ushering our Design Your Future Day high school guests to their workshops on a beautiful Saturday in April, I was reminded once again of the tremendous commitment to mentoring on this campus. I am so proud of the many Rensselaer students who give their time to young people in the variety of programs which reach back and encourage the next generation to study science and engineering, mathematics, and technology.
I am proud of your commitment to these activities because it gives life and meaning to a critical national and global issue. I often speak about what I term the “Quiet Crisis”— today’s scientists and engineers are aging and on the verge of retiring in record numbers, and there are not enough young men and women preparing to step in and fill the emerging gap. Their work—and the work that many of you are doing and will do in discovery and innovation—drives our economy, secures our safety and well-being, and underpins our global leadership. If we want to sustain our capacity to innovate, we must continue to build our science and technology workforce.
It is essential that we invest in identifying and educating the next generation of scientists, engineers, technologists, mathematicians—the innovators—to seize new challenges. An immediate challenge—clear to anyone who has filled a gas tank recently—is to encourage energy innovation and independence. “Energy security” is to our nation, now, what the “space race” was in the 1950s and 1960s; as such, it can and must be the galvanizing force for innovation and discovery.
Your volunteer time spent working with younger students through these programs inspires and mentors the next generations of young people. I saw this firsthand again at the FIRST Robotics Championships in Atlanta. With technical help from Rensselaer students and faculty, teams representing Colonie, Hudson, and Shenendehowa high schools joined 10,000 other enthusiastic students competing in the nationals late last month. Twenty of our students spent many Saturdays working with these high school students, and two of our students traveled with them to Atlanta.
The commitment of Rensselaer students also makes possible other “pipeline” programs to encourage the interest of young people in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology:
Our students lead workshops at Exploring Engineering Day, which seeks to spark the interest of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in science, technology, and engineering.
Our students help organize and run Black Family Technology Awareness Day, which attracted more than 450 area students and their families to the Troy campus for workshops and information designed to spur young people’s interest in pursuing careers in science and engineering.
In the Lego Robotics project, Rensselaer students work with the YMCA in Troy on a six-week after-school Lego-robotics program for local students in grade seven that exposes students to engineering design and computer programming.
For the Molecularium™ show, which premiered in February, at The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology, Rensselaer students worked with faculty to develop the show’s scientific content and created software enabling the simulation and computer rendering of millions of atoms in motion. You become role models, mentors, and sources of inspiration and support for these young people. Rensselaer is committed to supporting and expanding “pipeline” programs to engage young people in science and engineering studies and professions.
I applaud the time and effort you give these initiatives. The fact that you have such demanding schedules of classes, coursework, and activities makes your involvement all the more impressive. You are helping to lay the foundation for the future of science, engineering, and technology, and the future of innovation and discovery.
As the spring semester draws to a close, I wish each of you success in your final examinations and projects, and I extend my deepest congratulations to those of you who are graduating. Please have an enjoyable, safe, and productive summer. And thank you for all that you do to make us so very proud.
