US administration makes efforts to increase inclusiveness in STEM industries
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US administration makes efforts to increase inclusiveness in STEM industries www.whitehouse.gov/demo-day
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cience, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have a well-recognized diversity issue. Orlando Auciello, 2013 president of the Materials Research Society (MRS) addressed diversity in materials in the August 2013 issue of the MRS Bulletin saying, “The scientific and engineering communities must strive to become more inclusive, engaging all geographic and demographic groups in advancing science and technology. The Materials Research Society recognizes that diversity drives innovation, excellence and new discoveries. Although progress has been made, segments of our worldwide scientific community still remain a largely untapped resource in research and innovation.” The US government has recognized this problem and is trying to create opportunities to increase diversity
in STEM-based industries through inclusive entrepreneurship initiatives. Entrepreneurship has been an area of focus for the Obama administration since 2011 with the launch of Startup America, which addresses entrepreneurial hurdles such as access to capital, connecting with mentors, and barriers associated with moving innovative ideas from the laboratory to the market. Many of the more recent initiatives under this umbrella have a twofold focus: encouraging diversity and entrepreneurship. Part of the administration’s effort has been in selecting leaders, namely Jo Handelsman and Megan Smith, to join the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and spearhead the inclusive entrepreneurship initiatives. Confirmed by the US Senate in June 2014, Handelsman serves as the OSTP’s
The inaugural White House Demo Day presented an inclusive event where 30 startup teams joined President Obama to demonstrate their business ideas and stories. Credit: White House.
MRS BULLETIN
Associate Director for Science. An academic who previously held positions at Yale University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Handelsman is an expert on science education and has been recognized for her research on women and minorities in science. While Handelsman believes that “education can drive [diversity in] other areas by making diverse graduates available to the workforce,” she left her role in academia to join the administration because she recognizes that changing national policy can have a broader impact on STEM, education, and science. Handelsman describes diversification in STEM as “the right thing to do” and explained that “diverse groups are more creative and there is talent being wasted among people who are discouraged from STEM despite having tremendous potential to contribute.” Megan Smith was named the United States Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in September 2014. Smith is an engineer and technology evangelist whose career has spanned entrepreneurship to leadership in Fortune 500 companies. Diversity within technology-based fields has long been a focus for Smith, and she has led a number of efforts to increase diversity throug
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