2013 STEM Festival Kicks Off

On October 25, 2013, St. Mark’s hosted its first annual STEM Festival. The Festival, which highlights the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, was created to broaden students’ understanding of these topics and promote passions for careers in the STEM disciplines by inviting professionals in these fields to visit St. Mark’s.

 

This year, the School welcomed Dr. Brett Giroir, Dr. Michael Gould, Dr. David Genecov ’82, and Dr. Alan Stern ’75 as guest speakers. The scholars conducted a panel session at Upper School Assembly, sharing their wisdom about the sciences, and encouraging students to keep an open mind and pursue their interests. Each of them also visited various Upper School science classes throughout the day, where they spoke on topics ranging from growing stem cells and optimizing world food production, to deep-space exploration and robotics design.

 

Brett Giroir, M.D., serves as Vice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives for Texas A&M University and was a finalist in The Dallas Morning News’ Texan of the Year competition.

 

Michael Gould, Ph.D., is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Texas AgriLife Research, a service of Texas A&M University. For his work in agricultural science and research, Dr. Gould has received numerous awards and holds eight patents.

 

David Genecov, M.D., ’82 is a world-renowned craniofacial and cosmetic surgeon and is the Director of the International Craniofacial Institute in Dallas.

Alan Stern, Ph.D., ’75, served as NASA’s Associate Administrator and is the principle investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto. In 2007, he was named as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people.

The STEM Festival is chaired by Andrew Gatherer ’14 and Jonathan Ng ’14 and sponsored by Fletcher Carron, Stephen M. Seay ’68 Science Department Chair.