Participate in JUMP into STEM FY20–21 Professor Team

04/23/2020 01:30 PM
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) lead a relatively new online university student competition called JUMP into STEM. The competition focuses on design and energy efficiency in buildings. A team of professors collaborate by participating in monthly webinars to help shape the challenges and by including at least one of the challenges in their Fall 2020 classroom for course credit. 


We would like to invite you to join our JUMP into STEM Professor Team for FY20–21. Current active members of the Professor Team are from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University, Hampton University, the University of Tennessee, the Colorado School of Mines, Tennessee State University, Texas A&M University, and North Carolina A&T State University. 


The JUMP into STEM competition is for undergraduate and graduate students and will be held during the Fall 2020 semester. Students will submit short essays on technological ideas that address the challenges presented on our platform. We will have a panel of judges select finalists from each challenge. Finalists will compete at an event at NREL on January 28–29, 2021, for paid summer 2021 internships at ORNL and NREL. We plan to develop and finalize the challenges by mid-summer to be prepared for the start of the semester in August.


University or college (particularly MSI) professors who would want to engage with JUMP into STEM are asked to do the following:
    • Engage with JUMP into STEM competition team to provide feedback on potential challenges and updates during the competition
      • Approximately six (6) webinars from May through December 2020
    • Incorporate at least one (1) challenge into an appropriate Fall 2020 course as part of the student’s grade
    • Support their students on their research and submissions 
    • Promote JUMP into STEM at their university through sharing provided marketing and outreach materials



Please contact Melissa Lapsa from ORNL ([email protected]) by May 15, 2020, to let us know if you are interested in participating on the Professor Team. If you are, please let us know the name of the course(s) you are teaching that may be the best fit for a JUMP into STEM challenge, and any challenge topics you would like us to consider. We will set up a webinar in late May 2020 for the Professor Team to explore potential topics. 


We look forward to hearing from you!


JUMP into STEM Competition Team


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More about JUMP into STEM:


The JUMP into STEM initiative seeks to inspire the next generation of building scientists, focusing on creative ideation and diversity in the building science field. Diversity in buildings professionals (including an interdisciplinary mix of majors and representation by women and minorities) will help the industry better understand behaviors and needs of building owners and occupants, in addition to solving interdisciplinary challenges such as low-cost grid-interactive efficient buildings, energy optimization, and transactive controls. The JUMP into STEM program addresses these needs by providing a gateway for college undergraduate and graduate students to experience the research and career possibilities of studying building science. JUMP into STEM is intended for students from diverse majors, such as computer science, data science, statistics, mathematics, physics, economics, sociology, meteorology, architecture, in addition to engineering.


The JUMP into STEM initiative will:
    • Attract students to the building sciences by fostering innovation and ideation, including students representing an interdisciplinary mix majors, women, and minorities
    • Team with professors from a variety of disciplines to provide a launch pad for creative building science challenges in the classroom
    • Inspire entrepreneurial cross-disciplinary collaboration on building science challenges at colleges and universities
    • Collaborate with industry partners and STEM organizations to design and promote motivational student challenges and events.

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