National Computer Science Education Week (December 6-12) is a national week-long call to action to inspire, train, and encourage a diverse range of students from K-12 to pursue computer science and to say a hearty thank you to their teachers.
December 7, 2021
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This week is National Computer Science Education Week (December 6-12) — a national call to inspire, train, and encourage K-12 students from all walks of life to pursue computer science. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) relies on a skilled workforce with knowledgeable experience in computer science, and actively works to broaden the diversity of the computer science workforce. Learn what the Department has been doing to advance computing skills for all students to accelerate the clean energy workforce of the future.
Coding in the Classroom
DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab work with the University of Chicago annually during Computer Science Education Week, sending over 50 computer scientists to Chicagoland schools for the Worldwide Hour of Code initiative. DOE scientists share their career path and their experiences at a national laboratory, and work with students to complete Hour of Code activities. Learn more here.
DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is once again partnering with the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District and Tracy Unified School District to facilitate Girls Who Code clubs at local schools this fall. The response to the LLNL Girls Who Code collaboration has been tremendous: more than 400 Livermore students have participated in the program since it started in 2016.
Going with the Beat
At DOE’s Berkeley Lab in California, its Live Science virtual activity (on December 10 at 2PM PT) will explore the intersection of beat-making and coding, with a focus on the beat machine and the origins of Boom Bap. Attend this session and you’ll be well on your way to learning how to code beats.
Year-Round Cyber Strong
DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) works year-round to train teachers and provide extracurricular student programs and career-focused learning for students. The Lab also holds content workshops and professional training for teachers, and maps out strategic community partnerships that can increase the caliber of computer science education in their community. Check out their work here.
PNNL’s interactive, award-winning Network Collapse app helps students in grades 6–12 learn about information networks and is available for free download on the Oculus Go Store.
Our Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response’s CyberForce Program offers students of all ages and backgrounds the chance to expand their cyber skills. This year, the CyberForce program expanded to include two additional mini-competitions, webinars, a career fair, and a workforce portal. Check out the CyberForce Competition here to get involved.
Get More Info
Want to learn more about computing and energy? Visit our website for the Advanced Scientific Computing Research initiative, which leads the world in high-end computational science.
AnneMarie Horowitz
AnneMarie Horowitz is the Chief of Staff for the Arctic Energy Office. She joined the Arctic Energy Office in May 2023, and previously served as the Acting Communications Director until September 2023. AnneMarie has been with the Energy Department since 2010, and was previously on the digital team of the Office of Public Affairs, where she managed digital projects and internal employee communications efforts. AnneMarie was the Digital Communications Manager from March 2023 - September 2023 for the Department of Health and Human Affairs' Public Education Campaign, We Can Do This, to share information about the COVID vaccine.
AnneMarie founded two active employee resource groups at the Department of Energy: POWER (Professional Opportunities for Women in Energy Realized) and the Emerging Professionals Group. From 2015 - 2017 she served as the Special Advisor on workforce issues for Deputy Secretary of Energy Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall. She has also previously worked in the Under Secretary for Management and Performance and the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity.
AnneMarie created the STEM Rising: Women @ Energy series, featuring profiles of women from the agency who work in STEM careers. She was critical to establishing the Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, a dual-hatted effort of the International Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Ministerial to advance the transition to a clean energy economy by engaging more women in clean energy, and is involved with the U.S. C3E Initiative as an award reviewer and communication. During the Obama Administration she was a DOE designee to the White House Council on Women and Girls. AnneMarie was a U.S. delegate to the APEC Women in the Economy Forum in 2014 in Beijing, China.
AnneMarie has a BA in Political Science from the University of Portland and a Masters of Government from Johns Hopkins University. She resides in Philadelphia.