Education
The United States has fallen precipitously behind other countries in educating enough scientists, engineers and technologically trained workers to replace those now approaching retirement. Nationwide, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills have been identified as essential to developing a 21st century workforce and encouraging students to pursue advanced scientific and technological fields.
Beacon Institute's new strategic alliance with Clarkson University brings Clarkson's academic excellence — top rated by U.S. News & World Report — to the Hudson Valley. New education programming is geared towards undergraduate and graduate students, as well as middle and high school students and teachers, in the pursuit of scientific and engineering knowledge and understanding of our waterways using the River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON) and Hudson River as a "laboratory."
Master of Science in Engineering Management
A two-year program designed especially for working professionals in the Hudson Valley, New York City metro area and Capital District, this credit-bearing hybrid program provides graduate students with in-person classes with Clarkson faculty and well-placed industry experts at the Institute’s facilities at Denning’s Point in Beacon, plus live (“synchronous”) online classes, interacting with faculty and classmates in real time and “asynchronous” coursework accomplished online.
For more information, visit www.bire.org/engineering.
RIVER UNIVERSITY
River University 2013 | June 10 through June 28, 2013
This interdisciplinary summer experience for undergraduate students – called “life-changing” by the
inaugural class – launched during the summer of 2012 at Denning’s Point. Students took classes in
river ecology, environmental engineering and water policy and enjoyed hands-on experience aboard the sloop Clearwater.
For more information, visit www.RiverUniversity.com.
SENSE IT and Future STEM Programming
Piloted in 2008 at Tech Valley High School in the Capital District, SENSE IT expanded to 41 high school teachers in 31 school districts of the Hudson Valley, Capital District and St. Lawrence/Potsdam regions in
2009 thanks to a National Science Foundation (NSF) research award. SENSE IT provided teachers with
intensive professional development on interdisciplinary STEM curriculum modules to meet state education standards for competencies in math and science through hands-on environmental sensor activities for students. The results from this NSF initiative and the Institute’s affiliation with Clarkson University are informing future STEM education programming to middle and high school students.
The Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities
Developed by Beacon Institute and Pace University, the Environmental Consortium includes more than 40 institutions of higher learning. Directed by Michelle Land of Pace University, the Consortium is dedicated to transforming the Hudson Valley into an extended laboratory and classroom for policy analysis, multi-institutional field programs and cooperative regional studies.
