Todd Ensign

A3L Federal Works, LLC, (A3L), a Fairmont, WV, based company, recently designated $20,000 to be used by the NASA Education Resource Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. A3L is passionate about supporting and giving back to the local community through the advancement of its youth.

Middle to high school age students will have the opportunity to participate in the West Virginia REC Foundation Aerial Drone Signature Event February 25 – 26 in the Falcon Center on the University’s campus. Activities to take place throughout the weekend include an aerial drone tournament, NASA educator training, an aviation career expo, among others.

As a kid, Todd Ensign’s propensity and curiosity for science earned him the nickname “Space Cadet” from his classmates. 

“I would sit at my desk and draw pictures of rockets,” said Ensign. 

Fairmont State University’s College of Science and Technology and NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Program Education Resource Center (ERC) continues to provide opportunities to young students, educators and college students within the state of West Virginia. The ERC was introduced more than 20 years ago and since its establishment has expanded in size and scope.  

Fairmont State University’s College of Science and Technology with the NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Program Education Resource Center (ERC), will host a series of VEX Robotics tournaments for elementary through college students at the Falcon Center. Events will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 6-8, 2020.

The 2019 FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) West Virginia State Championship Tournaments were hosted at Fairmont State University over the weekend. 

Hundreds of students in grades four through seven were on Fairmont State University campus over the weekend to participate in the second annual Mountain State Invitational, a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) international competition. 

The Annual STEM Day in the Park was hosted by Fairmont State’s Education Resource Center at the NASA IV&V Facility October 17-18 for over 600 middle-school students from across the state at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center. 

Director Greg Blaney and other members of the senior leadership team taught students about the mission of NASA and the IV&V program. 

Fairmont State University’s College of Science and Technology will host a series of VEX Robotics tournaments for elementary, middle, high school, and college students at the Falcon Center on Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3. Admission to these tournaments is free and open to the public and provides an excellent opportunity for Fairmont State’s campus community to meet robotics team members, learn about competitive robotics, support STEM programs and see some exciting matches.  

STEM Enterprise has made a $10,000 contribution through the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. in support of the West Virginia FIRST^® LEGO^® League (FLL) robotics program for the 2015-2016 season. The NASA IV&V Educator Resource Center coordinates the statewide tournament that has is hosted in Fairmont by Fairmont State University’s College of Science and Technology each year.