Confirmed - STEM Expo (Robotics, AI, Virtual Reality, Physical Computing, Careers)

The Northern Virginia STEM Learning Ecosystem and Virginia Tech in the DC Area want to invite you to participate in a STEM-focused community outreach emphasizing  Physical Computing, Robotics, Mobile App design, and more.

• Saturday, March 25,  9am to 1pm
• Northern Virginia Center
  (W. Falls Church Metro)
• No charges, fees, admission costs, or
  parking costs for exhibitors or participants
• Proposed target ages for participants is
  age 8 to adult

We are still welcoming our collaborators, and inquiries from others.  

We hope to do this again in the Fall, probably excluding the messy (and expensive to clean) K-3 things of past years, and then create an annual event leading to when our Northern Virginia Center programs migrate to the new Innovation Campus scheduled to open in Fall 2024.

Save the date: March 25 STEM Expo - Northern Virginia Center

The Northern Virginia STEM Learning Ecosystem and Virginia Tech in the DC Area want to invite you to participate in a STEM-focused community outreach emphasizing  Physical Computing, Robotics, Mobile App design, and more.

• Saturday, March 25,  9am to 1pm
• Northern Virginia Center
  (W. Falls Church Metro)
• No charges, fees, admission costs, or
  parking costs for exhibitors or participants
• Proposed target ages for participants is
  age 8 to adult

We are now reaching out to our collaborators, and welcome inquiries from others.  

We hope to do this again in the Fall, probably excluding the messy (and expensive to clean) K-3 things of past years, and then create an annual event leading to when our Northern Virginia Center programs migrate to the new Innovation Campus scheduled to open in Fall 2024.

SCHEV announces new WBL training modules for educators, students and employers

The State Council of Higher Education in Virginia launched its first two online "readiness" courses. 

The two sets of modules are “Developing an Internship Program” for employers and “Developing Career Readiness Skills” for students (high school and college). 

The student modules are best experienced with the assistance of teachers, faculty and staff at the student's educational institution or support from an internship supervisor or other mentor. 

They hope educators will review the content of the modules and find ways to incorporate them into current interactions with students. 

Instructions for accessing the modules can be found here: https://virginiatop.org/course-catalog/ 

The project was led by Dr. Sam Ratcliffe of VMI. 

New statewide agency focused on Workforce

Perhaps in response to the Chips and Science Act, and related NSF priorities, workforce development is getting more attention.

from Cardinal News    by Markus Schmidt     November 10, 2022

Youngkin to propose new agency for workforce development

The state Labor Secretary made the announcement at a conference in Roanoke.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin will propose establishing a new, centralized state workforce agency to administer workforce development and training programs that currently are distributed across multiple agencies, Virginia Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater told a group of community college staffers and partners at the Hire Ed Conference at the Hotel Roanoke on Thursday.

“As the governor has been saying, workforce development is not operating like it should,” Slater said in an email to Cardinal News after the annual conference, where workforce leaders gather to explore the ways in which Virginia’s community colleges respond to the needs of businesses and individuals in the commonwealth.

With over 113 workforce providers, 250 training providers, and 1,500 training programs across the commonwealth, Virginia needs to centralize its workforce training, Slater said. “We are working to create a workforce operations structure that reaches more Virginians, prioritizes workforce development, and efficiently trains and places Virginians in jobs,” he said.

Jim Babb, the spokesman for Virginia’s Community College System, said that Slater announced that the Youngkin administration will ask the General Assembly to establish the new state workforce agency. 

“The proposed changes may impact about 30 employees at our system office in Richmond. These are people who have responsibilities for administering several federal workforce

Water-related Job Openings

 Job Opportunities with Closing Dates 

Program Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay Trust – Closing date: November 1, 2022 -- https://cbtrust.org/employment-opportunities/

Director of Programs, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake – Start Date: November 1, 2022 – Annapolis, MD – https://www.interfaithchesapeake.org/jobs.

Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program, U.S. Geological Survey (4 post doc opportunities) -- Applications due: November 1, 2022 -- 

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/mendenhall-research-fellowship-program/when-and-how-apply
         : 21-7. Advancing co-design of models and data networks 
         : 21-8. Advancing representation of groundwater surface water interaction in regional and national hydrologic models 
         : 21-9. Advancing hydroclimate science for water availability 
         : 21-10. Integrated water availability modeling 

Executive Director, Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council (Capital RC&D) – Closing date: November 3, 2022 – Carlisle, PA -- https://www.capitalrcd.org/employment-opportunities.html.

Department Chair, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University (Position: F9808Z) – Reviews Begin: November 7, 2022 – Fairfax, VA -- https://jobs.gmu.edu/postings/search (search: “environmental science and policy”)

Water Resources Program Manager, Albemarle County – Closing date: November 8, 2022 (5pm) – Albemarle County, VA -- https://www.albemarle.org/home (look under jobs, and then search “water resources”)

Fellowship in Water Reuse Policy, Technology, & Regulation Research, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Application Deadline: November 8, 2022 (3pm) – Washington D.C. -- https://orise.orau.gov/epa/current-research-opportunities.html (search: “water reuse”).

Agricultural Water Quality Specialist/Conservation Specialist, Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District – Closing Date: November 12, 2022 – Fairfax, VA -- 

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation/

Stormwater Team Leader, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) – November 14, 2022 -- Rockville, MD -- https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/mncppc/jobs/3761306/stormwater-team-leader-14992-grade-16

Animal Waste Conservation Planner, Shenandoah Valley Soil & Water Conservation District – Application Deadline Extended: November 14, 2022 (1pm) -- Harrisonburg, VA -- https://svswcd.org/jobopenings/  

Public Interest Environmental Law Fellowships, Environmental Law Institute – Closing Date: December 12, 2022 (11:59pm) – Washington D.C. -- https://www.eli.org/employment

PhD position in Freshwater Data Science and Forecasting, Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech – Application Deadline: December 15, 2022; Start: Summer 2023 – Blacksburg, Va -- https://carey.biol.vt.edu/ (see “join the lab”).

PhD student in Environmental Modeling and Community Resilience, Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Tech – Application Deadline: January 15, 2023 – Blacksburg, Va. -- https://publichealth.vt.edu/research-engagement/research/mehp/jobs.html

Research Assistantship for PhD Student, Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability, University of North Carolina – Application Deadline: January 15, 2023 -- Greensboro, NC – NSF-funded project examining dynamics of large wood in Coastal Plain rivers. The position includes full salary and tuition support. Starts: Fall 2023 (prefer to start: Summer 2023). For more information or to apply, contact Dr. Sarah Praskievicz, sjpraski@uncg.edu. See links below. (UNCG Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability; Ph.D. program in Geography; Dr. Praskievicz's Rivers and Water Resources Lab)

Job Opportunities Open Until Filled  

Lead Hazard Reduction Coordinator, Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. (SERCAP) – Roanoke, VA -- https://sercap.org/about/employment-opportunities 

Environmental Specialist Trainee/Environmental Specialist/Senior Environmental Specialist, Maryland Environmental Service – Tilghman, MD -- https://mes.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Careers/ (search: “Environmental Specialist”)

Entry-Level Environmental Designer, Wildlands Engineering – Springfield, VA -- https://www.wildlandseng.com/career-opportunities/

Civil Engineering Public Works, Hanover County (Position: 202200128) – Hanover County, VA --  https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/hanovercountyva (search: “engineer”)

Gov. Youngkin wants every high school student to graduate with a credential or associate degree

 from Cardinal News by Susan Cameron (October 26, 2022)

The Governor announced the initiative in Bristol; more is expected in December.

Every student who graduates from a Virginia high school should do so with a credential or associate degree that would allow them to “immediately be prepared to go right into life,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in Bristol on Wednesday.

The governor said he plans to announce in December he is seeking a budget amendment to fund expanding the program so that a credential or associate degree is a graduation requirement.

Doing so would “change lives and opportunities,” Youngkin told Cardinal News. “So, I believe that we have both the capabilities to expand that extensively. And there’s no reason why it couldn’t be incorporated into our graduation requirements.”

Youngkin appeared at the Bristol Train Station as part of a Speaker Series co-sponsored by Cardinal News and the Bristol Chamber of Commerce. The event, which focused on economic development in Southwest Virginia, drew more than 100, including the Southwest Virginia legislative delegation and local government, education and business officials. Other co-sponsors were the United Company, and the Train Station.

Chesterfield, Virginia - World's Largest Vertical Farm

Plenty to build 'world's largest indoor vertical farming campus' in Richmond area

Sep. 14th, 2022

Plenty Unlimited Inc., a Bay Area indoor agriculture company, said Wednesday it will build a $300 million vertical farming campus in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park.
The office of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin billed the project as “the world’s largest indoor vertical farming campus.”
Plenty said it will complete its 120-acre Richmond Farm Campus in phases over the next six years, ultimately creating more than 300 full-time jobs. Its first farm on the site, a dedicated Driscoll’s berry farm to be completed by early 2024, will be the first to grow indoor, vertically farmed strawberries at scale, according to the governor’s announcement. Plenty also indicated it plans to grow leafy greens and tomatoes at its new campus.
Arama Kukutai, CEO of Plenty, said in a statement the “scale and sophistication” of the planned facility will make it possible “to economically grow a variety of produce with superior quality and flavor.”
In January, Plenty announced a $400 million Series E round led by One Madison Group and JS Capital Management, both of New York, as well as