[60] Deadline nears for annual STEM conference for girls at MTSU

For release:  Aug. 31, 2012

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

EYH/WISTEM Center contact: Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, 615-904-8253 or Judith.Iriarte-Gross@mtsu.edu

 MURFREESBORO — Online registration closes at midnight, Monday, Sept. 3, for middle- and high-school girls to attend the 16^th annual Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science Conference at MTSU.

 

At the event, which will be held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, girls can learn the chemistry behind Sharpie pens; they can figure out the secret code of DNA; and they can investigate windmill energy with Schneider Electric engineers, among many options.

 

For the first time, the conference will offer high-school girls an opportunity to learn about equine science. Making a first-time appearance will be the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department patrol horses.

 

Expanding Your Horizons helps attract girls and young women to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, said Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, MTSU chemistry professor and director of the Women in STEM Center at MTSU and statewide Girls Raised in Tennessee Science (also known as GRITS) Collaborative Project.

 

To register, visit http://mtsu.edu/wistem/eyh/register.php. For more information, call the WISTEM Center at 615-494-7763 or email eyh@mtsu.edu.

 

The keynote speaker for the conference will be Jennifer Hill, recently promoted to manager of process control engineering with Nissan North America Inc., and a former Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators cheerleader.

 

Parents, teachers, guidance counselors and others who support girls in STEM education are invited to the GRITS Collaborative Project Forum, which also will be held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Sept. 22 at MTSU.

 

GRITS Leadership Team members will introduce the National Girls Collaborative Project model and participants will learn about the program directory, mini-grants and other available resources. Registration is $15 per person. To register online, visit http://www.ngcproject.org/event/grits-collaborative-project-forum-mtsu-eyh-0.

 

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For MTSU news and information any time, visit www.mtsunews.com.