Day 3 Speakers from Qualcomm

 Volunteers from Qualcomm got up early to meet us virtually to discuss engineering careers and intellectual property protection, and their individual career pathways.  Both Shannon and Achim described their training, values, how they made certain choices, and the role of chance and timing in their careers.  They also offered tips with their encouragement for our 20 young engineers, scientists, industrial designers and artists.

Wearable Technology Camp - Days 1 and 2

 The first 30-45 minutes of Days 1 and 2 involved about 45 minutes of group instruction and discussion  about IoT, Smart Cities, Sustainability, and the technical careers and college majors of the future, but then the day evolves into participant-driven project-based exploration. 

Thinkabit Labs Summer 2022 Camps - Free!

Shareable link to our Summer 2022 camp registration:  https://bit.ly/VT-Summer2022

(Full descriptions are provided in following pages.)   
All camps are free, and equipment is provided.

All camps are also:

•   9am to noon in-person 
•   hands-on, skills-based experiential learning  
•   allow for some extended participation in afternoons
•   located at our Virginia Tech campus next to West Falls Church Metro (Orange Line)

1. AAUW Wearable Tech (June 27-June 30)   -  suggested ages 12-18  (exceptions considered) 

     Co-sponsored by the Arlington Chapter of the AAUW, this camp was originally designed for girls,
and now welcomes all participants ages 12-18 (MS or HS).  Participants will build simple LED and servo motor circuits that are controlled by programming an Arduino microcontroller.  These skills will be applied to a creative wearable device that uses the same Arduino microcontroller and allows you to program and operate the device. Many other fabrication tools and skills will be introduced, including safety precautions.

2. Urban Agricultural and Environmental Technologies with IoT (August 1-4)  - suggested ages - 14-18 (exceptions considered) 

      Participants will identify real-world, urban agriculture and environmental challenges or problems, research and model potential solutions, and then test and redesign prototypes.  A variety of materials will be complemented with electronics monitoring, sensors and actuators addressing agricultural and environmental needs. Support for county fair or science and engineering fair brainstorming is available. 

Proceed to https://bit.ly/VT-Summer2022 to register.  

Questions? Email STEM@vt.edu or call 571-4828298 

Passing of George Willcox

 I'm passing on the very nice tributes written by Brenda Long and Darla Miller of Virginia ACTE. - Jim

Loss of a friend and colleague.

It is with a sad and heavy heart to inform you of the passing of George Willcox, retired State CTE Director, on Wednesday. George was a stalwart for CTE in Virginia and nationally.  He devoted 47 years to CTE with 41 of those with VDOE, Office of CTE.  George supported Virginia ACTE and the CTE division associations, quality CTE programs for students as well as expanded opportunities for students, and continued to strengthen the relationship with Virginia ACTE and VDOE.  He officially retired on February 1, 2022, and yesterday we lost a great advocate for CTE.  Rest In peace, Our Friend.  You ran a good race.

George provided leadership and support for Technology and Engineering Education for 47 years before his retirement on December 31, 2021. He joined the Department of Education as the advisor for the Technology Student Association in 1978 and served as a supervisor of the program of Technology and Engineering Education until his promotion in 2006. 

Most recently, he served as State Director of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. It is difficult to describe the range of impact he had on Technology and Engineering education, adding engineering courses in the mid 1990’s. He was active in TSA and the International Technology and Engineering Educator’s Association, serving as president in 2006. He was also active in the Virginia Association of Career and Technical Education. His was a giant in the field and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his daughter Angela Minor. Service information is not yet available. 

 A video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NBf7C_ba2dfX7mMQ-6FCA6t-UFy-lQ4g/view?usp=sharing

Former Thinkabit Graduate Assitant - Andreea Sistrunk

Our first graduate assistant, Andreea Sistrunk, was featured in President Tim Sand's State of the University yesterday, representing AI initiatives in our Advanced Research Center in Arlington.  Among several areas of specialized expertise, she has developed a very important niche in using machine learning to improve community engagement in education decision-making.  

Recognition for our Interns - Khulan Erdenedalai

Khulan Erdenedalai was our 2019 environmental engineering intern / research assistant through Arlington Public Schools' PRIME Internship program. Nothing about this honor from Arlington Magazine (or Arlington Public Schools, Yale University or the Gates Foundation before it) surprises us. Creative in multiple dimensions, modest, engaged and engaging, and she never casts a shadow.

Photo by Jonathan Timmes

Extraordinary Teen Awards 2021

Their pandemic senior year was anything but ordinary—which makes these new graduates all the more extraordinary.

June 13, 2021 

 Arlington Magazine

Khulan Erdenedalai
H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program

Khulan Erdenedalai was only 7 when she left Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, and moved to Arlington, but she says she’ll never forgot the pollution that ravaged her home city.

“I’ve been pretty passionate about combating air pollution. I’ve always made artworks and films highlighting these environmental and social issues,” says the 18-year-old, whose paintings were featured in a recent exhibit, “Dreams and Nightmares,” at the Arlington Arts Center.

She intends to study environmental engineering with a possible double major in ethnicity, race and migration when she lands at Yale this fall. “I’m hoping to help protect underrepresented communities from adverse environmental effects, by designing pollution control technology, and also addressing ozone depletion and other climate change issues,” she says.

Erdenedalai already has considerable real-world experience under her belt. In 2019, she served as a natural resources and environmental technology research assistant at Virginia Tech. This spring, she completed a fellowship with PBS NewsHour, where she produced a film about Mongolia’s air pollution and making yurts more sustainable. That post came amid her involvement with Climate Cardinals, “a youth-led nonprofit that aims to make climate information accessible in over 100 languages,” she says. “I started out [last summer] by translating climate information. In 2020, I became the social media director. Now I lead a team of 40 people and help flourish partnerships with other international organizations, and I work closely with a United Nations Youth Advisory Board member.”

In addition to the numerous Scholastic Art Awards and American Visionary awards she received from The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Erdenedalai was named a Gates Scholar this year by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The full scholarship was given to only 300 students from this year’s pool of nearly 35,000 applicants. –Rina Rapuano

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