RCA’s STEM programming this year includes the addition of an exciting special curriculum developed by Lieutenant Commander Hutchinson of the Watervliet Arsenal in partnership with the Tech Valley Center of Gravity Makerspace in Downtown Troy.
This has been an exciting semester for the launch of RCA’s STEM Pilot Program!
STEM students participated in the following sessions:
- Introduction to coding with Lt. Col. Hutchinson of the Watervliet Arsenal
- Meeting Anthony, DeBonis, the president of Troy Web Consulting
- Drones at the Watervliet Dome with Lt. Col. Hutchinson and Sgt. Sharpes
- Visit to SUNY Polytechnic Institute at the Albany Nanotech Complex with tour by
Mr. Lamar Hill of the President’s Office of NY CREATES and Executive Director
of NYDESIGN - Engineering a mouse-trap car, a project with students from Hudson Valley
Community College - Session two of building a mouse-trap car and live lab demonstration
- Presentation by Dr. Michael Conward of SelfArray and MyLUA
- Visit to Hudson Valley Community College- Troy Campus meeting with with Dr.
Hector Rodriguez, Dean of the School of STEM - Visit to Hudson Valley Community College TECH-SMART campus in Malta with
tour by Dr. Jonathan Ashdown, Dean of HVCC North
All sessions were coordinated by Lt. Col. Hutchinson along with Dr. Tom Triscari and Mr. Lucas Ashby of the Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency. This is a rare opportunity for the students, and we will also be looking to have additional STEM exposures for all RCA students.
Next semester will also be the launch of RCA’s STEM Integrated Circuit (IC) Design
Training Program under the direction of Dr. Tom Triscari and Lt. Col. Hutchinson. A select few students will be eligible to participate in RCA’s STEM IC Design Training Program.
STEM Pilot Program Schedule
- Week 1 Coding
- Week 2: App development
- Week 3: Drones
- Week 4: Robotics
- Week 5: Integrated circuits
- Week 6: Field trip to the start-ups
- Week 7: Sensors
- Week 8: “Cloud”
- Week 9: Artificial Intelligence-driven careers
- Week 10: Cybersecurity
About the Program Moderator
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hutchinson
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hutchinson is an Army Special Forces Officer whose previous duty position was Director, Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Applications at the United States Army Special Operations Command. He led a cross-functional division of cloud architects, software engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, and research psychologists who spearheaded a number of use cases in support of enhanced human performance, human machine teaming, and workforce development. Attempting to hire and retain the high-quality civilian talent the division required exposed a gap in the workforce development pipeline in the broader United States in the fields most necessary for the emerging global economy and national defense. In his role as commander of the regional Army Recruiting Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Hutchinson seeks to provide educators and students with access to information and pathways leading to these high-demand civilian careers.
Roosevelt Banks
Roosevelt Banks is a former Naval nuclear power engineer who attended the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Florida. He also studied and finished in the top 5% at the Knolls Atomic Power Lab S7G Nuclear Prototype. He became the Chief Reactor Watch onboard the USS Eisenhower. Roosevelt Banks later returned to the Knolls Atomic Power Lab as an instructor of officers, enlisted men, and civilians. His engineering and teaching background makes a perfect fit for RCA’s science and engineering program (STEM). He recently received a scholarship from the ASM Materials Education Foundation and attended a graduate level summer training program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for teachers in materials science and engineering.
Elementary STEM programs will continue to be offered by Dr. Jim Tkacik, who has volunteered since 1996 at RCA.
