Siena prioritizes STEM studies

Since careers in science and engineering are growing at an impressive rate, Siena College in Loudonville has invested in instrumentation and earned federal grants to offer financial support and emphasize faculty-led student research in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Since 2009, enrollment in Siena's School of Science has grown nearly 20 percent. The college's new SAInT (Siena Advanced Instrumentation and Technology) Center will open in September, with state-of-the-art lab equipment: an HD Prime Analyzer HD that can detect levels of lead and other regulated elements in toys, apparel and electronics; and a massive radio telescope known as Viper, previously used in the South Pole to view and research cosmic background radiation.

Siena has also secured federal grants to support STEM education. The School of Science received 12 grants in the past year, totaling more than $1.8 million, from organizations such as NASA, the National Institute of Health, the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the National Science Foundation. In the last 10 years, the School of Science has been awarded more than $14 million in grant funding. [[In-content Ad]]