Statement on White House Community College Innovation Challenge event
Innovative students in NSF-led competition honored with White House reception
NSF is committed to maintaining the U.S. status as the worldwide leader in innovation.
June 15, 2018
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), hosted the fourth annual Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC) this week. This competition encourages innovative, entrepreneurial students to use science and engineering to propose solutions to real-world challenges, from energy generation to landmine detection. This year, 10 finalist teams were invited to the White House to present their ideas to a panel of expert judges, and met with senior administration officials, including Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios, Senior Policy Advisor in STEM Education for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Jeff Weld, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination Chris Liddell, and NASA's Associate Administrator James (Jim) Reuter, as well as members of the National Science Board. NSF Director France Córdova issued the following statement on the event:
NSF is pleased that the administration hosted this year's Community College Innovation Challenge event. CCIC requires months of work, training and learning from these students, and this visit to the White House was a wonderful way to honor their efforts. I'm impressed by the innovations these finalists created, and by the professionalism they showed in presenting them. I would like to personally thank the officials who took the time to meet with the finalists, including Representative Rick Nolan, Michael Kratsios, Jeff Weld, Chris Liddell, Jim Reuter and Walter Bumphus, president and CEO of the AACC.
NSF is committed to maintaining the U.S. status as the worldwide leader in science and engineering innovation. Doing so requires empowering more of our nation';s students to pursue employment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Community colleges present people with curiosity and ambition, invaluable options for learning and career training. We are proud to work with the White House, the AACC and a wide variety of additional partners to help prepare the next generation of U.S. STEM workers.
The Community College Innovation Challenge is proudly powered by Skild.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Sarah Bates, NSF, (703) 292-7738, email:sabates@nsf.gov
Related Websites
The NSF Community College Innovation Challenge: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/communitycollege/
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, its budget is $7.8 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards.
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: https://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: https://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: https://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
