Norco, California. (August 1, 2023): In this photo by Neil Mabini, Tam Vo, an electrical engineer with the High Energy Laser and Metrology Lab at the Naval Surface Warfare Center,   addresses local high school students participating in the Navy’s Science and Technology Education Partnership’s program. Nicknamed “STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and mathematics) in Defense,” this pilot program holds summer learning labs to give hands-on experience on career opportunities in the national defense field.

The Navy encourages students to pursue cybersecurity, data analytics, and the commercialization of military technology through outreach programs to area middle and high schools  to get young students to become excited about pursuing careers in STEM.

Part of this educational outreach involves providing mentors and current engineering students from various disciplines in electrical, computer, mechanical, industrial and technology to individual students as they plan their future. The goal is to develop a new generation of workers and leaders who are grounded in the basic and applied sciences and can harness the increasingly complex technologies of tomorrow.

One such technology truly on the forefront is Directed Energy Weapons-laser guns from science fiction. The High Energy Laser and Metrology Lab is working on converting chemical or electrical energy to radiated energy and then focusing it on a target to it wants to damage or destroy. The lab is evaluating the use of High Energy Lasers that emit photons and High-Power Microwaves that release radiofrequency waves to reliably strike targets with precision. The Navy plans to use these weapons to defend surface ships against missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and enemy surface craft.

Advanced projects like these will need these bright young minds with extensive training in the sciences to give America an edge over potential adversaries.