In This Issue Al Gore to Speak on Science, Math Carnegie Corporation Awards MentorNet $50K Online Resource Supports Women in STEM Gaining STEM Experience Through Game Design Al Gore to Speak on Science, Math On November 17th at 12 noon EST, former Vice President Al Gore will host a virtual town hall meeting, aimed at producing interest among U.S. students in science and math. The U.S. ranks 35th in math and 29th in science worldwide. Click here to participate in this event. DuPont Minorities in Engineering Award MentorNet partner American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is looking for the next recipient of the DuPont Minorities in Engineering award. The winner will be selected based on outstanding achievement in motivating underrepresented students in engineering technology at the university or college level. The award, which is endowed by DuPont, includes a $1,500 reward, a certificate and a travel grant for the ASEE Annual Conference. To learn more about this award and other currently open awards offered by ASEE, please click here. Nominate a  Woman in Tech Fast Company is seeking 2011's Most Influential Women in Tech. If you would like to nominate somebody, please click here. November 17, 2010 www.mentornet.net Carnegie Corporation Awards MentorNet $50K Grant to Scale Mentoring Program for Women and Underrepresented STEM Students in the U.S. SUNNYVALE, CA - November 16, 2010 - The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded a $50,000 grant to MentorNet to meet the critical national priority to increase engineering and science talent. MentorNet matches students on more than 100 campuses to volunteer mentors in industry and academia and then guides their relationship over the Web with very positive impact on the confidence and ability of students to graduate and reach their career goals. This grant is to support MentorNet in expanding its program. MentorNet provided Nancy Santagata, a former protégé, with just that. "At the time I signed up, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue on in academia and finish my Ph.D. or end my schooling and begin a career in industry," said Ms. Santagata. "I had plenty of contacts in academia, but what I didn't have was a contact in the 'real world.'" Matched with an industry mentor, Nancy was able to learn about working in industry and was able to reach her career goals. Click here to continue reading. Keeping Women on Track with PhDs Click the thumbnail above to be directed to the CareerWISE website and videos. Half of women consider abandoning their pursuit of a Ph.D. in engineering and science, reports Arizona State University. Discouraging advisers, uncomfortable work environments and sexist attitudes were cited among the various hurdles the women experienced, say researchers and creators of CareerWISE, an online support network for women in STEM. Bianca L. Bernstein, an Arizona State professor of counseling and principal investigator of the $3.2 million NSF grant project that led to the creation of CareerWISE, describes the resource as an "online psychological education intervention and prevention program." By addressing the various challenges that women in STEM face, "We aim to reduce these women's decisions to leave their programs, if that decision involves discouragement," says Bernstein. Gaining STEM Experience Through Game Design George Mason University's Kevin Clark (left), works with youths in the Game Design Through Mentoring and Collaboration program A STEM program for underserved populations in Virginia is combining video games with a unique mentoring model to get youth interested in STEM careers. Game Design Through Mentoring and Collaboration, a program between McKinley Tech and George Mason University, involves group collaboration, mentors, hands-on experience and open-ended projects in 3D modeling, animation and game design. The program's mentoring model uses experienced students as mentors in combination with classroom teachers, allowing for a group learning and collaborative environment. "Students must learn the content to complete the task," says Kevin Clark, the program's principal investigator. For example, a group of students must understand the laws of physics to construct a "3D sphere and determine how it will go in the hoop and at what trajectory," he explains. MentorNet is a 501(C)(3) California non-profit educational organization. Our mission is to help aspiring engineering and science students and professionals at the university level - especially women and underrepresented minorities - achieve their career goals by matching them with mentors and guiding their one-on-one relationships over the Web. We are funded by fees from our campus, corporate, government laboratory and society partners and by grants from public and private foundations.