

S1 E12: Forensics Beauty Queen
Alayna Westcom, a forensic scientist and former Miss Vermont, takes the Nerd Girl nation through the highs and lows of working in a morgue. Each day, Westcom finds herself most excited at the prospect of using science to provide answers to grieving families. #S1E12ForensicsBeautyQueen


A Catalytic Conversion: Westcom showcases her science talents
Twenty-three-year-old Alayna Westcom stood onstage in a white dress with a blue atom emblem, blue shoes, and lab glasses. On a table covered by a white tablecloth, she added hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide to a little soap and then stepped back to watch. "Don't try this at home," she teased as white foam erupted onto the stage. It was a catalytic decomposition reaction that goes by the nickname "elephant's toothpaste." The hydrogen peroxide rapidly decomposes into wate

A quiz for future engineers
Students aged 7-19 who may be engineers in the making are invited to take the Meet the Future You quiz to examine different engineering careers. The quiz questions focus on the test taker’s interests and educational strengths to match them to profiles based on real-life engineers representing diverse disciplines. These include the marine, biomedical, mechanical and electrical engineering professions. Some sample questions include: Where would you like to work? Possible respon


A 'Bridge' to Master's Engineering Programs
Numerous jobs in computer science, data informatics and cybersecurity have six-figure earning potential, and demand is growing. The demand for those with computer science backgrounds, for instance, will rise 12 percent over the next decade—double the average growth rate for jobs in general. That’s according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And for those with cybersecurity skills, well, you can just about write your own ticket: Employers are currently struggling to fill