All posts by blenon

Fab Lab, IET Newsletter

Fab Lab Preview

Our Fab Lab at NOVA Manassas is making great progress and on track to open in January, 2020. The Fab Lab will support NOVA’s industry-aligned AAS in Engineering Technology.

Once finished, the Fab Lab will offer state-of the art equipment for instructional and training use such as modular automation systems, high and low voltage electronics, fluid and power control systems and a full “Smart Factory” mechatronics system to teach how to control manufacturing, maintenance, inventory and supply chain operations.

In addition, the Fab Lab will contain a Makerspace featuring a 3D scanner, 3D printers, laser engraver, plastic thermoforming machine, a vinyl printer/cutter and a full woodworking shop as well as a computer aided design (CAD) computer lab featuring SolidWorks software, all to serve as a hub to connect industry to the developing technology workforce.

The Interface will keep you updated on Fab Lab progress up until the grand opening.

Check out the initial press release for more info https://www.nvcc.edu/news/press-releases/2018/nova-partners-fab.html

NOVA Loudoun Campus, NOVA STEM Days, STEM Expos

NOVA STEM Day Loudoun Activities 9-28

NOVA STEM Day at the Loudoun Campus
Saturday, Sept 28, 10am to 4pm
NOVA Loudoun Campus
21200 Campus Drive, Sterling, VA 20164
Pre-register here

NOVA STEM Day is FREE and will have the following activities:

NOVA Systemic – STEM Zone
Learn about programming and robotics using VEX, Sphero, Osmo platforms and more!

Loudoun County Public Library – Makerspace

Academies of Loudoun – UV Light/Slime
Interactive experiment with UV Lighting & Slime

Academies of Loudoun – FRC Robotics Team
Meet FRC Team 5338 and their FRC Robot!

NOVA Loudoun – Bones of the Body
Learn the bones of your body! What properties make up the bones of your body? What microscopic structures the compact of bone? Identify the organic and inorganic components that make bone hard and yet flexible. Examine skeletons, individual bones, coloring activities and more.

NOVA – CHM Toon
Chemical reactions and more!

Adobe Illustrator – Explore your Artistic Potential with Technology
Create characters and activities in Adobe Illustrator!

Vet Tech Dept – A Day in the Life of a Veterinary Technician
Become a Vet Tech by bandaging patients, examining xrays and bones and more!

Loudoun Water – Interactive Watershed Model
Explore the interactive watershed model, water source protection and conservation

Geared UP! – Robot Driving Station with Team Geared UP!

Northern Virginia Community College – Psychology IS a Science
Celebrate the scientific studies of the senses. Learn about sensation, perception and classical conditioning. Taste our treats, check out optical illusion demos, and more!

Russian School of Mathematics – Fun with Math!

NOVA Physics – Hands-on demos with a mini roller coaster, Van der Graff mini-generator and Gyro-effect with a Bicycle wheel

NOVA Programming – Introduction to Visual Programming

Virginia 529 – spin the wheel to win prizes

biofeedbackWORKS – Check out bio and neurofeedback technology!

Geology – Interactive Geology models and processes

Cyberjutsu Girls Academy (CGA)/Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu – workshops provide a hands-on, fun, and interactive experience in topics such as web design, mobile application development, computer fundamentals, programming and many more!

American Society of Naval Engineers – Students will play the FLEET video game so they are able to explore and master it at home. The game is completely free and a great resource for exploring STEAM and solving problems using the engineering design process.

IET Newsletter, STEM Camps

STEM Camps Still Available

Summer is a busy time for NOVA Systemic as we’re running STEM camps all across Fairfax, Loudoun, Alexandria, and PWC for rising 3rd through 12th graders. We kicked off our STEM Camp 19 program in mid-June and have seen many students get equipped for the year ahead by doing fun and equipping hands-on projects in camps ranging from elementary STEM to advanced Cybersecurity.

We’re offered 10 different STEM Camps this summer – Robotics (VEX IQ, VEX 1 and VEX 2), Coding, STEM Elementary, STEM Middle, STEM High, Arduino, Rocketry, & Cybersecurity – in 55 different sessions at 13 locations including 5 NOVA campuses.

We still have many STEM camps available for the first half of August at NOVA Manassas Battleview, NOVA Loudoun, NOVA Annandale, Micron, and more, so if you are still looking for a great way to keep your kids busy up until school starts, sign up now at www.nvcc.edu/systemic.

**$25 DISCOUNT FOR NOVA, MICRON, & VERIZON MEDIA EMPLOYEES – email us at systemic@nvcc.edu from your official work accounts and we’ll give you a code to use while registering.

Career Day, IET Newsletter

Technician Career Day at Micron

Micron is investing $3 billion in expanding their site in Manassas – and there are many full-time Technician Career opportunities available! On Thursday August 1st meet with Micron team members and determine if this is a career path for you. The following positions are available:

  • Equipment Maintenance Technician
  • Gas/Chemical Technician
  • Facilities Technician
  • Fab Support Technician

When:
Thursday August 1
9am to 6pm
9600 Godwin Drive
Manassas,VA

An application must be completed by 4pm (EST) on Weds July 31 to RSVP to this event. Go to www.micron.com/careers to see current posted positions. Select “Find Your Next Career” then enter job number 137950 to apply.

Micron is a top exporter in Virginia, the 3rd largest memory company in the world and a leader in innovative memory solutions that transform how the world uses information to enrich life.

Micron Technology Virginia (MTV) Center of Excellence
MTV is a 24/7 fabrication facility housing a Class 100 cleanroom as its manufacturing floor. Every hour, 365 days a year, organizations of people and systems of automation and robotics arefabricating one of Micron’s most complex portfolios of long life-cycle memory products.

Community STEM Teams, IET Newsletter

Community Robotics Teams

Does your child want to be on a robotics team? We’re gearing up for our second season of Community VEX Robotics teams in Manassas, Alexandria, & Loudoun for middle and high school students who don’t have a robotics team or program at their school.

We’ll be using the VEX IQ (for beginners) and VEX Robotics Competition platforms during the 2019-2020 school year. Parent/student interest meetings are scheduled August 13 in Manassas, August 14 in Alexandria, and August 15 in Loudoun.

Sign up at survey.novastem.us/VEXCommunityTeam

IET Newsletter, Robotics

Robotics Mentor Training

Our Robotics Mentor Training is coming up on August 27th. Training is designed for Coaches, Mentors, and Parents that lead VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) and VEX IQ Challenge (VIQC) teams. Whether you are new or experienced, this is a great time to connect with other individuals, share ideas, and learn about the upcoming year. We will cover a wide range of topics including:

  • Virginia Program Overview
  • Starting a Robotics Team
  • Competition Season Overview
  • Changes for the ‘19-’20 Season
  • Overview of the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC)
  • Overview of the VEX IQ Challenge (VIQC)

To RSVP, please visit: http://workshop.novastem.us/mentortraining

IET Newsletter, NOVA STEM Faculty

STEM Faculty Spotlight – Kwabena Konadu

Congratulations to Professor Kwabena Konadu,who will become the Edward H. Bersoff Cybersecurity Endowed Professor starting in August.

Konadu is currently working for SE Solutions as a consultant for the Department of Homeland Security. He teaches Cybersecurity and Information Technology courses at the Woodbridge Campus. His primary focus includes System Monitoring, Infrastructure Protection, Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering, CyberRobotics, and hardware development. He spent the first 12 years of his career building and testing space hardware applications for nuclear vulnerability/survivability assessment, and more than 10 years working as an Information Systems Security Engineer. Professor Konadu is also a Faculty Coach and the Director of Engineering for Cybersecurity Competitions at the Woodbridge Campus where he is responsible for providing virtualization platform infrastructure for offensive and defensive cybersecurity. He holds an M.S. in Telecommunications Network and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University.

Professor Konadu can be reached at kkonadu@nvcc.edu

IET Newsletter

New Employee Spotlights – Natasha and Jose

Natasha Schuh-Nuhfer is the new STEM Education Coordinator for Prince William County and will also help run our Teacher Professional Development.

Natasha previously served as the Director of the Teacher Enrichment Program at the Center for Excellence in Education, supporting underserved rural and urban STEM teachers and their students. Natasha was responsible for the program’s launch in Virginia in 2012 and subsequent implementation in nine other states. She received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. She has volunteered at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in D.C. and currently volunteers at the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Dulles. Natasha is passionate about exposing kids to STEM and creating awareness of the wide variety of STEM career fields available to them through traditional and non-traditional routes. Natasha can be contacted at nschuhnuhfer@nvcc.edu

Jose Alagarin is the new STEM Education Coordinator for Fairfax County and will also help run our Robotics program.

Jose previously worked as the STEM Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator at Eastern Kentucky University where he led recruitment efforts, taught environmental education lessons to K-12 students, and coordinated the College of Science’s STEM Camp for high school students. Jose has a Bachelor’s in Physical Sciences/Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and a Master’s in Geography/Applied Atmospheric Sciences from Ball State University. Jose can be reached at jalgarin@nvcc.edu

IET Newsletter, STEM Degrees

Degree Spotlight – Engineering Technology AAS

Invent the cutting edge! NOVA’s AAS in Engineering Technology is the path for students with the hands-on proficiency to take theoretical concepts and turn them into practical solutions. Students in this program will develop skills that lead to careers in various fields: Engineering, Electronics, Industrial Design, Automation, Robotics, and more.

More info at https://admissions.nvcc.edu/programs/engineering-technology