WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division depends on a talented workforce to come up with new and exciting innovations both for internal command processes and products, as well as for America's warfighters and the fleet.
Having served the U.S. Navy and the national maritime community for nearly 80 years, Carderock emphasizes the importance of having new generations of skilled workforce recruitment pools by offering a variety of programs and activities dealing with career development in technical, operational, and financial fields while supporting national interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) focused initiatives.
In addition to intern programs, such as the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) and the Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP) which engage high school and college students in summer work opportunities, many of Carderock's career-focused programs aim to reach students as early as elementary school and as late as postgraduate university level. To ensure students and the schools they attend receive the visibility and resources they need, Carderock enters into Educational Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the university, public school, or public school jurisdiction.
Currently, Carderock has 11 active EPAs with schools ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade public school systems, including Frederick and Howard counties in Maryland, through significant college-level institutions such as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The term of an EPA currently spans five years.
Carderock's Chief Technology Officer Jack Templeton said these EPAs are imperative to make sure the universities, public schools, and their students receive the opportunity for and resources required to cultivate student interest in what Carderock does, to interest them in prospective future careers working at Carderock and to learn how financial, operational, engineering, and science skills impact many aspects of Carderock's business world.
"Having these formalized relationships affords Carderock the recognition among students and academics, and further promotes STEM and other prospective federal career paths," Templeton said. "It also allows us to track our outreach. We are working with academics and institutes of higher learning to ensure latest technology sharing, which postures Carderock for future healthy recruiting pools to hire from."
As stated in any official EPA Carderock enters into, the purpose of these agreements is to aid in the educational experience of the institution's students by providing a mechanism by which those students can benefit from both Carderock's staff expertise and unique facilities and equipment related to its science and technology ventures. Carderock's contributions to these partnerships help to encourage student interest in STEM and business vocations, and may benefit Carderock laboratories in terms of advanced training of future employees. It also benefits the country by encouraging young people to be interested in the sciences and engineering.
An EPA can also allow Carderock to loan laboratory equipment to an institution for educational purposes, make laboratory personnel available to teach science courses, or to assist in the development of such course and related educational material, as well as offer visits, tours, and demonstrations at its facilities for faculty and students of the partnered institution.
Additionally, Carderock designates a senior scientist or engineer responsible for structuring the partnership program and providing support to the educational institution. EPAs do not procure funds for programs, and participating parties are responsible for their own funding.
Carderock's Director of Technology Transfer Dr. Joseph Teter said the EPA not only protects the student's interest, but also serves as a necessary safety measure when working with young people.
"Because we are sending our people out to the school districts and they will be in the classroom interacting with kids, the agreement specifies that the school system has the right to vet these people coming through the door," Teter said. "This is something Carderock happily obliges with. While Carderock personnel have been vetted by the government, it is important that schools know who is coming into their buildings to interact with the students at all times."
Odean Cameron, an administrative specialist and acting EPA coordinator at Carderock, works closely with many of the programs and serves as the liaison between the educational institution and the command.
"The relationship between Carderock and the academic institutions is mutually beneficial," Cameron said. "Students are learning about new things and getting to interact with neat equipment and real professionals in STEM fields, and Carderock will hopefully get more scientists and engineers in the future."
"The goal of the whole STEM program is to inspire, engage, and educate," Cameron said. "Currently, the United States is lacking in scientists and engineers, and in order to get that number up, we are going out to the elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, teaching students about great potential careers. Elementary school kids may not be thinking about their careers, but the middle school and high school students are starting to listen and they see the opportunities. Even if they don't come to Carderock, if we can inspire them and get them thinking outside the box to pursue a STEM career, then it was all worthwhile."
Other STEM programs and activities Carderock offers -- in addition to the Navywide SEAP and NREIP programs -- include SeaGlide®, LEGO Robotics, SeaPerch, Calculator-Controlled Robots, the Seaplane Challenge, and Bristlebots.
Templeton said Carderock is always interested in prospective, formalized relationships with academic institutions and encourages any employee who would like to discuss a prospective relationship for EPA consideration to reach out to Teter or Cameron.