Oakland, CA -- (SBWire) -- 05/25/2011 --The Expanding Your Horizons Network (EYH/N) has begun work to implement a multi-year grant award from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to introduce young women to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program titled, “All Shades of Navy- Introducing Young Women to Naval Careers” is designed to introduce middle school girls to non-traditional Navy careers such as nuclear engineering, computer science, oceanography, and cryptology.

Building upon their long standing success of presenting hands-on science and math conferences for middle and high school girls, The Expanding Your Horizons National office will work with the Office of Naval Research to bring EYH conferences to several new locations, including the Monterey Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and Yokosuka Fleet Activities in Yokosuka, Japan. The grant will also support an existing EYH conference located on a navy base in Ridgecrest, California. The project will profile several high-ranking women from interesting non-traditional careers who will give middle school girls the opportunity to interact with them face-to-face as well as virtually.

Michael Kassner, Director of Research comments, "The Office of Naval Research is pleased to partner with this award-winning program to reach more girls and expose them to the exciting science and technology careers that await them throughout the Naval research enterprise. It is critical to our innovation process that our nation's STEM workforce leverages the creative science and engineering minds of our young women."

Stacey Roberts-Ohr, Executive Director of the Expanding Your Horizons Network, states, “Establishing EYH conferences on Navy bases in the United States and internationally is an exciting project for EYH/N. We commend the Navy in their efforts to introduce girls to a wide range of interesting careers where women have traditionally been underrepresented. We look forward to working with Navy personnel to convey a strong message that women can have exciting career experiences by first joining the Navy and then getting special training in a rewarding STEM field. We look forward to partnering with them and hope to expand the horizons of many girls”.

About The Expanding Your Horizons Network (EYH/N)
Winner of the 2010 National Science Board’s Public Service Award, EYH/N’s mission is to encourage young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. Through Expanding Your Horizons Network --EYH/N) conferences worldwide, the Network provides STEM role models and hands-on activities for middle and high school girls. The ultimate goal is to motivate girls to become innovative and creative thinkers ready to meet 21st century challenges. The Network was founded in 1974, and since that time more than 800,000 young women have attended and benefited from EYH conferences.