Chemistry Life Science Support of eCybermission

The 14th Annual eCyberMission challenge culminated 20-24 June 2016 in Leesburg, Virginia. What began with over 23,000 students at 584 schools was narrowed to eighty-six students on 23 teams competing to be the National Winners on projects spanning STEM-related projects. The Academy has been very active to support this effort spear-headed by the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). Over the past few months approximately 800 cadets served as Student Judges and several faculty facilitated as Virtual Judges to narrow the field to Regional Finalists. LTC Melissa Eslinger, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Life Science, represented the Academy as a Judge at the National Judging and Educational Event (NJ&EE). Regional Finalists from across the nation in grades six through nine were evaluated on oral presentations, question & analysis sessions, and written mission project folders. These folders were designed to document efforts on solutions to community based problems formulated through collaborative efforts with universities and experts within respective fields. The events also presented several STEM Challenge Events in cooperation with the National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA), the US Army Communications-Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the US Army Armament Research, Development, & Engineering Center (ARDEC), among others. The event ended with a keynote address by Ms. Mary Miller, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and $5,000 savings bonds presented to the National Winners.