PASCAGOULA, Miss., Jan. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has awarded more than $102,000 in grants for 28 projects at schools and educational organizations in Mississippi and Alabama. The grants, which were requested by the organizations, will be used for projects associated with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
This is the seventh year for Ingalls' STEM program. The company has awarded more than $609,000 for STEM-related projects during that period.
"The projects allow the students to use STEM-related thinking and applications in real-life situations so they can observe their knowledge and education at work," said Edmond Hughes, Ingalls' vice president of human resources and administration. "Ingalls remains devoted to workforce development across the Gulf Coast, and through these grants and other educational-related activities, we are working with our school districts to mold future shipbuilders."
The 2015 STEM grants, with amounts awarded listed, include:
Mississippi
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Bay High-Printing the Future—Funds will be used to purchase a 3-D printer, laptop computer and 3-D scanner. $4,350
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Biloxi Junior High School—The school will purchase 10 Lego EV3 robots to be used by students in the eighth grade. $4,990
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East Central Middle School—Grant funds will support the team's participation in upcoming BEST Robotics competitions. $1,500
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Gautier Middle School—Funds will be used to establish a robotics team. The team will utilize the VEX robotics design system as a learning platform for STEM exploration. $3,790
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Gulfport High School—High school engineering and teacher academy students will team up to teach the engineering design process/scientific inquiry model to elementary students by setting up five special laboratories for elementary students throughout the Gulfport School District. $5,000
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Gulfport High School—This grant will support the senior FIRST Tech Challenge team. Through the FIRST Tech Challenge program, students learn mechanical and electrical engineering basics, computer-aided drafting, computer programming and web design. $3,184
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Magnolia Middle School—Students will apply STEM principles in the exploration of renewable energy resources. $4,977
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Magnolia Middle School—Students will use remote-controlled cars to study friction and how it affects speed by conducting experiments, researching, studying the mechanics of motorized vehicles and calculating changes in speed based on the changes in friction applied. $2,256
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Moss Point Career and Technical Education Center—Funds will be used to purchase a residential wiring trainer panel. The panel will be used to introduce STEM electrical principles and concepts similar to those found in a residential dwelling. $4,765
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Moss Point High School—Funds will be used for the second phase of the school's greenhouse restoration/turtle habitat project and a license to use simulations that will enable students to apply learned concepts to real-world situations. $3,050
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Ocean Springs High School—Funds will be used to purchase kits from which students will design, create, assemble and decorate rockets to launch on a designated "rocket launch" day. $1,117
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Ocean Springs High School Career Technical Center—Students will study the anatomy and physiology of the eye and ear, learn to perform vision and hearing screenings, examine the eye and ear for abnormalities and dissect an eye. $5,000
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Ocean Springs Upper Elementary—This is a sustainable energy project in which students apply STEM to construct and race model solar-powered vehicles. $5,000
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Ocean Springs Upper Elementary—Sixth-grade gifted students will be exposed to construction, architecture and engineering techniques as they build a scale model house. $4,072
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Pascagoula High School—Students will use Vernier probes, with the help of laptops and Logger Pro software, to collect data in a lab and analyze it. $4,000
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Pascagoula High School—Using iPad Minis, students will complete a project on forensics where they investigate and gather data from a "crime scene" set up on campus. $2,600
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Pascagoula High School—Students in physics and physical science classes will construct and launch their own rocket, allowing them to make the connections that are often overlooked when discussing the laws of motion. $2,300
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Pascagoula High School—Students will study genetic engineering methods used in biotechnology. $2,174
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Pascagoula Opportunity Center—The objective of this project is to provide students with an interactive, personal experience of comparing and contrasting plant and animal cells. $2,803
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Pascagoula School District—Grant funds will be used to repair and clean existing microscopes in the district and to purchase additional ones as well as triple balance beams. $5,000
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Pecan Park Elementary School—With the inclusion of STEM materials in the library, students will be provided an opportunity to bring science books to life through hands-on, kinesthetic experiences. $1,743
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St. Martin Middle School—Students will investigate the impact of energy on our lives and the environment. $4,500
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St. Martin High School—This project will enhance student interest and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, art and math by allowing student teams to compete with vehicles and structures they have created, built and tested using brainstorming, research and the design process. $5,000
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St. Patrick Catholic High School—Funds will be used to equip a STEM lab for seventh- and eighth-graders. Students will be given the opportunity to perform advanced experiments such as DNA extraction. $5,000
Alabama
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Baker High School—Funds will be used to purchase physics equipment necessary to perform experiments in the physics and math classrooms. $4,782
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BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) —This is a volunteer-driven robotics program that impacts schools in Mississippi and Alabama. Funds will be used to help sponsor a robotics competition for students that is held annually in Mobile. $5,000
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Erwin Craighead Elementary School—The Junior Master Gardner Program will be used as a vehicle to involve students in science and math through gardening. Students will design, plant, maintain and harvest a community garden. $3,133
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St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School—The school will implement a Lego robotics program for students in grades 3-5. $1,200
Huntington Ingalls Industries designs, builds and manages the life-cycle of the most complex nuclear and conventionally-powered ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. For more than a century, HII's Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII also provides engineering and project management services expertise to the commercial energy industry, the Department of Energy and other government customers. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs approximately 39,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:
CONTACT: Bill Glenn
William.Glenn@hii-co.com
228-327-1671
