The National Science Foundation has awarded a one-year grant of $239,260 to the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE) at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in PA.

The grant will be used for “SENCER-ISE,” an invitational conference that will create partnerships between formal and informal science educators to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning through civic engagement.

The NCSCE develops, implements, and evaluates activities and projects that encourage and strengthen the efforts of colleges and universities to reform undergraduate education, especially in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The signature program of the center is Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), a project funded by the National Science Foundation. SENCER promotes greater engagement of undergraduates with the sciences in institutions of higher education in the US and selected other countries.

The SENCER-ISE conference, planned for late winter/early spring, will improve communication and expand collaboration between these two communities, says Wm. David Burns, Executive Director of NCSCE and professor of general studies at the Harrisburg University. He is the principal investigator for the grant.

Alan Friedman, a consultant in museum development and science communication, is the project director and informal science education coordinator. For 22 years he served as Director of the New York Hall of Science, New York City’s public science-technology center. Under his leadership the Hall won special recognition for encouraging new technologies, creating new models for teacher training, and serving an extraordinarily diverse audience.

“SENCER and the world of Informal Science Education are both populated with very smart people who are deeply committed to sharing science with everyone they can reach. They are even using similar techniques, such as involving non-scientists in studying consequential issues. Yet as far as I know, leaders of these two communities have never met. That’s what is so exciting about SENCER-ISE: imagine what great ideas and projects could come out of this first meeting,” says Friedman.

Founded in 2001 to address Central Pennsylvania’s need for increased opportunities for study leading to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, Harrisburg University is an innovative and ambitious private institution that produces graduates who provide increased competence and capacity in science and technology disciplines to Pennsylvania and the nation. Harrisburg University ensures institutional access for underrepresented students and links learning and research to practical outcomes. As a private University serving the public good, Harrisburg University remains the only STEM-focused comprehensive university located between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

For more information on the University’s demand-driven undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in applied science and technology fields, call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu.