NEW ORLEANS – The 2015 Louisiana STEM Expo will feature an impressive lineup of some of the top scientific and technical talent in Louisiana and more than two-dozen exhibits from the state's top universities, museums, agencies and companies at Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015.
Speakers will include:
• Sherri H. LeBas, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
• Dr. Isiah Warner, an LSU Boyd professor of chemistry and the university's Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives
• Brian Rodriguez, founder and president of Gatorworks, a Baton Rouge internet design firm.
Also greeting the hundreds of expected students and parents will be State Rep. Steve Carter of Baton Rouge, State Rep. Regina Barrow of Baton Rouge and State Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas.
Dr. Orhan Kizilkaya, an LSU assistant professor at CAMD and president of Kenilworth's school board, noted all of the speakers are Louisiana natives, keeping with the STEM Expo's theme of "Homegrown STEM in Louisiana."
Exhibitors include academic and technical departments from some of the top universities in Louisiana, including LSU, Tulane, Southern, Southeastern, UNO and Xavier.
Other exhibitors include the Lafayette Science Museum, National World War II Museum, Baton Rouge Zoo, ExxonMobil, Louisiana Board of Regents, Water Institute of the Gulf, LA Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, EVERFI, Inc., Urban Restoration, LIGO, Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital, Destrehan Plantation, Acadian Robotics and LA Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry. The U.S. Navy also will have a special STEM demonstration.
“We are fortunate in Louisiana to have such talented leaders, scientists and engineers, and it is our responsibility to prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers and STEM leaders,” Dr. Kizilkaya said. “That is the purpose behind the STEM Expo, to celebrate Louisiana students' interest in the STEM fields and to encourage and inspire them to do great things in the future.”
The Louisiana STEM Expo is an innovative alternative to traditional science fairs that gives middle school students around the state an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skill through demonstrations, games and robotics.
Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School, a state-sanctioned charter school with an academic focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, is the founder and host of the expo.
