A Caring Touch, LLC
Congrats and
HighFives!



Posted February 1, 2014

Congratulations, High Fives, and Best Wishes...




















































Know of someone or an organization across Greater Cincinnati who deserves a "pat on the back", a "high five", or congratulations
on their great efforts or achievements?  Send an email to info@aboutgreatercincinnati.com.
Cincinnati State Wins Grant to Promote Its Laser Major
Cincinnati Museum Center's
Youth Programs Receives $20,000 Grant
The National Center for Optics and Photonics Education (OP-TEC) has awarded Cincinnati State a $15,000
“mini-grant” to promote its laser technology program.  

The grant is one of four awarded nationally by OP-TEC as part of a targeted campaign to encourage high school
students to enroll in associate degree programs that prepare them for careers as photonics technicians.  Maui
College in Hawaii, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern Michigan College in Michigan were
also grant recipients.

Photonics involves the use of lasers and other electro-optical devices in fields such as manufacturing,
medicine, aerospace, information technology, communications, defense, security, and solid-state lighting.
Photonics applications offer technicians a variety of careers and professional advancement opportunities; yet
industry studies suggest there is an inadequate supply of capable high school students in the pipeline to meet
future demand.

The laser major at Cincinnati State was established in 2010, as part of the college’s Electro-Mechanical
Technology program. Cincinnati State will use its grant to hire a dedicated part-time recruiter, and to host a
three-day photonics institute for high school science and technology teachers in June 2014. The institute will
be a lab-based experience that will expose high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
teachers and students to lasers and optics, and to the education and career opportunities available to
students.

OP-TEC, headquartered in Waco, Tex., is supported by the National Science Foundation. Its mission is to
increase the supply of well-prepared photonics technicians by building and strengthening the capacity and
quality of photonics education in U.S. two-year colleges.

High-fives OP-TEC and Congrats Cincinnati State!
Prof. David Simmermon, a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Technology
Department, working with one of the lasers with students.
                                                                                                                         Photo | Cincinnati State
Cincinnati Museum Center announced its Youth
Programs has received a $20,000 grant from the
American Honda Foundation. The grant promotes
informal education in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM).  Serving 110-125 youth ages
13-18 in the Greater Cincinnati area each year,
Cincinnati Museum Center's Youth Programs gives
youth unique opportunities by providing access to experts and resources in STEM fields.

"We are proud to support the Youth Programs, which focus on STEM education at two levels," said Donna
Hammond-Cotton, Senior Program Officer for the Torrance, California-based American Honda Foundation.
"First, members receive in-depth training. While working with mentors in the museum of their choice, the
youth learn about STEM-related activities and career options. Second, members spread STEM education to
others by sharing their STEM knowledge and enthusiasm with the museums' visitors."

Cincinnati Museum Center's Youth Programs is a tuition-free diversity development initiative designed to
enhance the creativity, confidence and success of its members. The American Alliance of Museums
Accreditation Commission recognized Cincinnati Museum Center's Youth Programs as "a national model for
urban museums working with at-risk students."

Participating in workshops, field trips, college visits, volunteerism and other learning opportunities,
Youth Programs members learn valuable life and work skills. They benefit from their interactions and work
within the museums, exploring science, history and child development through hands-on experiences with
a team of leading professionals. The ultimate goal of the program is high school graduation with a plan for
the future. Since 1998, 99 percent of all Youth Program graduates continue on to a four-year college.

High-fives American Honda Foundation and Congrats Cincinnati Museum Center's Youth Programs!