STEM Adventures:
Bringing K-12 Students to Research Labs and Facilities 
William Floyd High School

This year’s first high school tour of Stony Brook’s R&D Park took place on January 10, 2024.  Twenty-nine students from William Floyd High School were supervised  by Career & Technical Education Chairperson Allison Weigand, Assistant Principal Robert Felicetta, and two additional William Floyd instructors.  Students in CTE programs such as carpentry, robotics, automotive, and electronics toured energy labs in battery storage, combustion, and hydrogen.

Part two of the event saw the student cohort experiencing the VR Deck and programming robotics via AI at Sunrise Technologies. 

After the tour, students attended lunch provided by Phil Rugile and the Institute for Workforce Advancement.  Beginning with the trivia question, “What is a ‘composite’?” a student’s correct answer earned him an Offshore Wind Supply Chain t-shirt.  Mr. Rugile spoke with both students and teachers about workforce opportunities in advanced manufacturing, including robotics, welding, and CNC machining.

Organized by Derek O'Connor - Workforce Development Manager (Economic Development)