Science and Technology Week celebrates advancements in the field of science and technology, as well as the hardworking, dedicated students and professionals who make those advancements possible.

Connecting tomorrow’s problem solvers with leaders of today. CONNECT offers the opportunity for current students to network with recent alumni. This year’s focus will be on modern communication, effective networking, and leadership skills.

Tentative Schedule

• 10:00 am: Registration and check in
• 10:15 am: Welcome & Networking
• 11:00 am: Student & Alums Activities
• 11:30 am: Lunch & Networking
• 12:10 pm: Facilitated discussions with Students & Alums
• 1:00 pm: Wrap- up

Please register HERE

CAST Lunch & Learn: Cultivating a Practice of Equity Mindedness

Monday, March 27, 2023

Turner Hall, Room 125 @ 12-1:30pm

Institutions continue to create new efforts to increase diversity among their student, staff, and faculty populations. In addition, there has been a surge in the formation of committees to address retention and DEI concerns. However, to effectively create an environment prepared to support these efforts, we need practitioners who will not lead with the premise of diversity but be guided by the practice of equity. This interactive session will give you the tools needed to be an equity-minded practitioner.

Emily Calandrelli is the host and co-executive producer of the hit Netflix series Emily’s Wonder Lab. Each episode features Emily and a group of kid-scientists as they learn about STEAM through experiments and fun activities. Emily is also an Executive Producer and Emmy nominated host of FOX’s Xploration Outer Space and was a correspondent on Netflix’s, Bill Nye Saves The World.

Emily, who was named to Adweek’s“11 Celebrities and Influencers Raising the Bar for Creativity in 2017”, is also an accomplished writer and speaker on the topics of space exploration, scientific literacy, and equality. Her chapter book series, The Ada Lace Adventures, centers around an eight-year-old girl with a knack for science, math, and solving mysteries with technology, the second book in the series, Ada Lace: Sees Red, was included in the National Science Teachers Association’s list of best STEM books for 2018. The third book, Ada Lace: Take Me To Your Leader, was part of the initiative from NASA and CASIS, Story Time from Space where the book was launched into space and read by an astronaut aboard the ISS to an audience of kids. The fifth and most recent book in the series, Ada Lace: and the Suspicious Artist which was released in February 2019. All 5 books in the series are available at Barnes and Noble as well as Amazon. Earlier this year Emily released a children’s book, Reach For The Stars, an uplifting book about love and shared discovery.

Emily frequently gives talks about the importance of science literacy, the benefits of space exploration, and the challenges for women in STEM careers for clients like Google, Pixar, MIT, Texas Instruments as well as dozens of K-12 schools across the nation. Her first two TEDx talks, “I Don’t Do Math” and “Space Exploration Is The Worst,” have garnered over one million views on YouTube.

Prior to her work in science communication, Emily attended West Virginia University, where she received a Bachelors of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, and MIT where she received two Masters of Science degrees, one in Aeronautics and Astronautics and the other in Technology and Policy. Through her work, she wants to make science relatable, easy to understand and more exciting today than ever before in history.

Celebrate CAST alumni during their induction to the Academy of Achievement. The Academy brings together alumni who are “thought leaders” in their fields and who serve as an inspiration to others with similar career paths.

Schedule

• 8:30 am: Coffee Hour (free and open to the public)
• 9:30 am: Induction Ceremony (free and open to the public)
• 10:30 am: Brunch (invitation only)         

Did you know that 7 out of 8 CAST departments graduate female students into male-dominated fields? Join us to have conversations about career success with successful CAST alumni.

Schedule

• View full schedule

Check CAST.IllinoisState.edu for more information about each event. Contact Kara Snyder at kepool@IllinoisState.edu with any questions or requests for accommodations.