sTEm Educators' Corner: Back to School Resources for Middle and High School Educators

Want to give your students something to talk about? We're looking for high school and college students to appear in the brand new student profiles section of our Made in Florida website (http://madeinflorida.org/student-profileslorida.org/student-profiles).

These profiles provide interest, encouragement in academic persistence, and real-life career examples to other high school and college students across Florida. We would love to share more success stories and profiles of students in Florida. If your institution offers college, or high school engineering technology focused programs (Automation and Production, Aerospace, Alternative Energy, Electronics, Engineering, etc) we are asking for photos and collecting information via a very short survey located at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6DKNMYW.

When students submit a photo to mboyette3@hccfl.edu (this information is contained in the survey) they will receive a photo release form to complete. FLATE is here 24/7 providing online resources for you to share with your students as you share and integrate STEM curriculum. Our Challenge curriculum has been crafted for both middle and high school students, but teachers have shared they are applicable as learning objects for an even wider age range of students.

For information on these and other STEM-related resources visit the FLATE Wiki. You can also email Dr. Marilyn Barger at mbarger@hccfl.edu, or join MadeinFLorida on FACEBOOK.

sTEm–at-Work (Puzzle #15): Heat Exchanger Working Fluid Test

A U-Betch-Em Inc. technician is evaluating two new working fluids; UBetch-Em 205 and U-Betch-Em 210. The same mass of each fluid was tested in a test stand which was operated exactly the same way for both fluids. U-Betch-Em 205 has a heat capacity of 1200 calories/kg oC while U-Betch-Em 210 has a heat capacity of 1500 calories/kg oC. The heat capacity indicates the heat to be absorbed before 1 kg of fluid raises 1 degree centigrade.

Tests results for both working fluids are shown below. Plot (A) is the results of the test of U-Betch-Em 210. (Yes or No). Submit your answers at www.fl-ate.org

Job Shadowing experience that lives beyond the final report!

Hello STEM Instructors:

An exciting new program is now available for your students participating in job shadowing in manufacturing to publish their experience on the www.careerME.org website. We provide worksheet templates and instructions about this new program, as well as details about what deliverables students need to capture and create to be eligible to publish their report on the website.

CareerME.org is an exploration web portal about advanced manufacturing careers and more. Go to http://www.careerme.org/job_shadowing_program.php to learn more about how you and your students can participate in this job shadow project (or you can get there from the www.CareerME.org homepage by clicking on the green “ME Job Shadowing Program” button at the top right of the page).

To contact a staff member directly with your questions or general interest, send an email to info@careerme.org.

(Contributed by Sandy Feola, customer engagement manager at the National Center for Manufacturing Education at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, OH) 
 

For more information on the Job Shadowing Program click on the image



Hillsborough Community College’s Strategic Plan for College-wide Reduction of Green House Gas Emissions

In December 2008, Hillsborough Community College (HCC) signed on to the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment announcing its effort to eliminate the college’s contribution to global warming. In doing so, HCC became the first, two-year institution in the state of Florida committed to establishing goals leading to climate neutral emissions. As a first step, HCC conducted a greenhouse gas emission study in 2010 to establish a baseline to monitor future changes in its carbon footprint. The study found that HCC emitted a total of 37,287 metric tons of CO2 equivalent across all its locations. Stratified data showed student and employee commuting to be the largest contributor to HCC’s carbon footprint accounting for a 76.7% of total emissions. Electricity usage accounted for 22.6%, and the remaining 0.7% came from fossil fuel combustion.

From this initial work, HCC through its Sustainability Council has worked with external consultants to establish a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that will form part of HCC’s strategic direction. The goal, as stated in the CAP, is to reduce HCC’s baseline carbon footprint by 11% by 2015, 34% by 2030, and 100% by 2050 to reach zero net emissions by 2050. The goals will be accomplished through a wide variety of education and outreach activities, new programs and carbon offset strategies. Several educational institutions have already been looking to HCC as a benchmark to aid in their implementation of carbon footprint studies.

For more information on the CAP report visit http://hccfl.edu/departments/ifs/hcc-sustainability/hcc's-climate-action-plan.aspx, or contact Dr. Sudeep Vyapari at svyapari@hccfl.edu