Massachusetts isn’t churning out enough college graduates in the field of computing to meet the demands of the current job market. So said representatives of Google, Microsoft, and Intel during a meeting with Massachusetts lawmakers on Wednesday at a Tech Hub Caucus meeting held at the State House.
According to Steve Vinter, engineering and site director at Google’s Cambridge office, “Computing… is not a tech sector problem, it is a Massachusetts economy problem.” Vinter pointed out that while more than 70% of new STEM jobs require advance computing skills, inadequate computer science offerings in Massachusetts schools have created a shortage of workers to fill the available openings. One solution: Spark interest in computer science by introducing the subject earlier in students’ school careers.
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Thinking about applying to law school? An undergrad degree in a STEM subject is a selling point these days. While the typical law school applicant of a decade or so had a humanities background, today’s recruit is more likely to have a grounding in the sciences. Driven by the tremendous growth in technology, the trend in law school admissions is yet another sign of the rapidly increading importance of STEM in the job market of tomorrow.
In his blog, “Arthropod Ecology, Christopher M. Buddle, Associate Professor in McGill University’s Department of Natural Resource Sciences makes the case for a scientist’s responsibility to do outreach. The five points he makes supporting his argument are: 1) scientists have specialized expertise; 2) scientists have credentials; 3) scientists are critical thinkers; 4) scientists are communicators; and 5) scientists are passionate. For all these reasons, scientists have the knowledge and power to alter perspectives and inspire others. Read Buddle’s whole post here: 
“I always was fascinated by weather,” says New England meteorologist Mish Michaels. A member of the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair board of directors, the TV veteran has early memories of a tornado blasting through her family’s Baltimore, MD apartment complex — an experience that helped form her fascination with the weather. Currently taking a break from her TV meteorologist job to raise her young daughter, Mish has a new children’s clothing line called Natural Cloud Cover, consisting of weather-themed organic t-shirts and onesies. A percentage of sales goes to the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in Massachusetts. Mish is living proof that there’s no limit to where an interest in science can lead!
