STEM+ME2 Academy Gets $10K Grant from MIT

CANFIELD, Ohio – Students at Valley STEM+ME2 Academy have been awarded a $10,000 grant from a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a danger-alert system for schools.

One of 15 schools nationwide to receive the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant, students will develop the system over the next nine months. The application process was led by the academy’s STEM coordinator, Rachel Young.

“We are very proud of our students who worked really hard on the final application where they were tasked with describing their invention, as well as creating a financial plan to fund the invention,” Young said. “The most rewarding part for them is having the chance to present to people from all over the United States at one of the most prestigious schools in the country.”

The danger-alert system will feature an app on both Android and iOS that would read student badges, store student information and send out important messages, including emergency alerts. Plans also call for a scanning system installed in each room and the building’s entrance to monitor who is entering and exiting the building, along with where they are.

Next June the 15 schools will present their projects at MIT’s EurekaFest. Participants were chosen from a panel of judges including educators, researchers, staff and alumni from MIT, as well as industry representatives and previous InvenTeam grant winners.

“The InvenTeams program represents the future,” said Leigh Estabrooks, invention education officer from the Lemelson-MIT Program. “We place an emphasis on STEM-focused projects to develop interest in these fields among youth. With InvenTeams, our primary goal is to foster high school students’ passion for invention, in turn inspiring them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering or math.”

The Valley STEM+ME2 Academy is housed at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center. The curriculum focuses on the traditional STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math – as well as manufacturing, energy and entrepreneurship.

Pictured: Students from the Valley STEM+ME2 Academy will work on an emergency alert system over the next nine months as part of the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.