The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced the launch of a new $10 million initiative aimed at providing high-tech equipment to high schools.
The MENTOR program, short for Manufacturing Experimentation and Outreach, will be a partnership between the defense agency and private contractors and will also encourage cyber-electro-mechanical innovation through high-school teams and competition.
The teams will work on projects involving âthe design and building of things like go-carts, mobile robots and small unmanned aircraft,â said Paul Eremenko, DARPA program manager.
âAnd weâll encourage collaboration during the challenges through the use of social media and social networking applications,” he added
The initiative will begin with 10 schools, but then expand to 1,000 by the fourth year of the program, Eremenko said. The programâs collaborators include small businesses, universities, nonprofits and research companies.
The program bridges together DARPAâs Adaptive Vehicle Program, aimed at developing more efficient defense vehicles, as well as President Barack Obamaâs push to encourage more student interest in science and engineering.
âOur success as a nation,â Obama said recently, in a variation on familiar themes, âdepends on strengthening Americaâs role as the worldâs engine of discovery and innovation.â