Connecticut Science Center Honors STEM Achievement Award Honorees

Press release from Connecticut Science Center:

Oct. 13, 2021

The Connecticut Science Center recognized the 2021 STEM Achievement Award and Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award honorees at its Virtual Gala: Thank You Science on October 2.

The STEM Achievement Awards, sponsored by Stanley Black & Decker, celebrates the achievements of professionals, groups, advocates, businesses, and leaders who share the mission to inspire lifelong learning through interactive and innovative experiences that explore our changing world through science. The 2021 Individual Honoree is Tara Jo Holmberg, MA, MEd, MS, a Professor of Environmental Science and Biology at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. The 2021 STEM Achievement Award Individual Finalists are Jordan A. Greco, Ph.D, Chief Scientific Officer at LambdaVision, Inc. and Greg M. Jones, Vice President of Community Health and Engagement at Hartford HealthCare. This year’s Organizational Honoree is the Natural Resources Conservation Academy at the University of Connecticut.

The Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award Individual Honoree is Andrea Kwaczala Ph.D, a Biomedical Engineering faculty member at Western New England University. The award recognizes a woman working in STEM who is a leader in her field, and who makes a significant effort to support other women and encourage girls’ interests in STEM. The honoree is selected by the Connecticut Science Center’s Women in Science steering committee.

“For the first time ever, the Science Center has added the STEM Achievement and Women in Science Youth Award categories in 2021.” Said Matt Fleury, President & CEO of the Connecticut Science Center. “Students, such as the ones nominated for our awards, embody our mission here at the Connecticut Science Center. We are thrilled to be able to honor these students making great accomplishments in STEM.”

The 2021 STEM Achievement Award Youth Honoree is Joel Torres and the Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award Youth Honoree is Sivani Arvapalli. The student achievement award recognizes and celebrates a student in grades 8-12 who has shown curiosity, achievement, and/or leadership in one or more STEM fields. This could be through promoting STEM Education in the school or community, or through the creation and development of a novel product or technology tool.

About the honorees: https://ctsciencecenter.org/aw...

This press release was produced by Connecticut Science Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.