The center aims to work with 32,000 local students by 2019 and already supports many with labs that explore real-life scientific applications. The goal is to provide these students with a pathway to becoming the next generation of data scientists, programmers, information architects and tech company CEOs.

A commitment to helping students understand the kinds of jobs the future promises, and helping to train them for those positions, drove Panasonic to partner with local nonprofit leaders, as well as state and municipal officials to open Students 2 Science Newark Technology Center.

Panasonic’s involvement is not only an extension of our core principles but also our commitment to support local efforts that advance educational excellence. During the center’s opening ceremony, Tom Gebhardt, Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America, awarded a $1.5 million grant on behalf of the Panasonic Foundation.

The Foundation looks to schools as transformative learning environments that will drive innovation and ingenuity. One of its goals is to address the widespread gap between future jobs and lack of education in science, tech, engineering and math especially in low-income communities. This can have a devastating impact on prospects for employment. The statistics are sobering. “Nationally, just 25 percent of high school seniors are able to do grade-level math…Those numbers are egregiously lower among African-American and Hispanic students,” according to an NBC News report. 

In New Jersey, home to Panasonic’s North American headquarters, roughly 20% of state students go off to college for STEM disciplines—one of the highest rates in the country.

But there is a gap. Of the 1.2 million public school students in New Jersey, a significant number live in communities with struggling schools that put them at a disadvantage for success in postsecondary education and the global workforce. Nationally, studies show that STEM education programs are dramatically under-resourced, particularly in low-income communities. By 2030, two-thirds of the fastest growing industries will require a postsecondary credential or degree. With the projected growth of STEM occupations, there is a critical need to provide students with access to opportunities that will unlock their potential and ignite their interest to pursue careers in the STEM fields. 

Volunteers aim to do just that by offering expertise and enthusiasm. “With Panasonic being one of the leading companies in technology and being here in Newark, it’s a great chance for us to foster interest in next gen careers, especially with students who have curiosity in mathematics, science and engineering,” said Hamid James, a solutions architect based in Panasonic’s Newark headquarters, who volunteers at the center.

In the center, students work side-by-side with volunteer professional scientists using modern instrumentation to investigate critical world issues, such as the impact of global overpopulation on food sources, water pollution, pandemics, as well as the stuff of daily life, such as how sunscreen works. These real-world investigations are grounded in Newark's curriculum and the "Next Generation Science Standards"—rigorous science standards adopted by the state—and represent some of the most vital issues facing today's youth.

The center also offers its virtual labs, where students do hands-on, project-based learning with professional scientists right at their desks. This remote instruction broadens the center’s reach by eliminating geographic barriers and language constraints through Connectivity, a sophisticated proprietary communications platform available in 200 spoken languages with interpreters on demand. Teachers are also offered opportunities for professional development and technical assistance. Both in-lab and in-class instruction include mentoring, and curriculum compatible with the Next Generation Science Standards and career pathways for 21st century jobs.

As we look toward the future, it is evident that the talent that we have in our classrooms today will be the talent that occupies STEM jobs in the future. Investments made by the Panasonic Foundation continue to focus on incubating new ideas and developing public/private partnerships that directly impact students and provide them with the skills and credentials they are going to need to lead fulfilling and successful lives. At the same time, we continue to uphold the values of Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic who articulated seven basic principles (contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability, gratitude) not long after founding the company in 1918. We are committed to funding forward-thinking initiatives such as the Students 2 Science Newark Technology Center and are extremely proud to stand alongside our partners in making investments in education that will prepare the future workforce that will drive innovation at Panasonic for the next 100 years.

 

Photography by Christopher Lazaro

In a Connected World, life revolves around getting to our destinations as quickly, safely and comfortably as possible. That’s the daily challenge facing organizations in the automotive and aviation sectors, as well as government agencies that build, operate and patrol our transportation infrastructure.

In this fourth article from the Moving Forward research series, Panasonic Corporation of North America assesses how senior technology decision makers in these industries view our Connected World, the technologies they see driving us forward, and the impact these technologies will have on their future plans.

By 2025, 10 disruptive technologies are expected to generate trillions of dollars of economic impact. Our new study reveals that Connected World industries – aviation, automotive, and government agencies involved in transportation infrastructure – have already adopted five of these technologies on average. And four have risen to the top of their innovation agendas – energy storage, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and sustainable energy. Panasonic is deeply engaged in all of them.

As one automaker remarked, the coming transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles (EV) will be “the biggest revolution in transportation this millennium.” And clearly, when it comes to widespread use of energy storage, the automotive sector is a pioneering leader. Overall, among Connected World industries, some 37% have adopted energy storage technologies. Another 48% are planning to invest in or adopt it soon.

Panasonic is seeing soaring demand for this technology in our own business. As a market leader in lithium ion batteries, we’ve invested heavily with global automotive partners to propel the growth of this disruptive technology.

Connected vehicles with advanced driver-assistance systems are already entering our roadways. Built with equipment such as top view camera systems that provide a 360-degree bird’s eye view – plus sensors that detect airbag deployment, windshield wiper operation, engagement of brakes, etc. – these vehicles can transmit data about their status to other connected vehicles on the roadways and emerging intelligent roadway infrastructure.

Technology decision makers in Connected World industries (automotive, aviation, government transportation agencies) expect connected vehicles to deliver a whole host of important benefits: fewer collisions, reduced congestion, less pollution, and more connected and informed driving (and riding) experiences.

Autonomous vehicle technology builds on this connected vehicle foundation. Many tech decision makers in our Connected World industries think riding in an autonomous vehicle will be exciting, while a few admit it might terrify them. Still, two in three tech decision makers expressed an intent to adopt autonomous vehicle technology. This represents a 54% increase over current adoption of autonomous vehicle technologies.

After the cloud and mobile devices/apps/commerce, artificial intelligence is seen as the disruptive technology most critical to the future success of organizations. In fact, nine of 10 decision makers see AI as a way to personalize how they engage with their customers and predict future needs. The number one obstacle? Finding a strategic partner to develop a roadmap for integrating it.

In Colorado, Panasonic is creating a pioneering intelligent roadway system, designed to ingest two billion data points from connected vehicles each hour. Applying machine learning and predictive analytics to this massive data set, the system will enable the Colorado DOT to send personalized alerts and optimal routing suggestions to each connected vehicle on the road.

Two-thirds of Connected World organizations have either adopted sustainable energy or plan to do so in the near future. Only one in six has no plans to invest. Many decision makers view adopting sustainable energy, such as solar and EV, as a no-brainer: “It saves us money and is good for the earth.”

In addition to the 10 disruptive technologies that were the primary focus of this survey, Panasonic also identified three emerging technologies that appear to hold great promise in Connected World industries:

• Biometric: four in five organizations say they’re likely to adopt these technologies in the next three to five years, with features such as authentication enabling them to enhance security and create more personalized experiences
• Next-generation communications: almost half believe that technologies like 5G and high-speed satellite will transform their industries by 2022
• Advanced displays: seven in 10 plan to invest in technologies like mobile screen sharing, augmented/virtual reality and head-up displays

We’ll be exploring these emerging technologies in future trend articles.

Finally, we found that five in six Connected World organizations agree that embracing disruptive technologies is essential to remaining competitive today.

Many of these organizations realize they need a strategic partner to get the most out of disruptive technologies. With experience incorporating them all into integrated business solutions, Panasonic may be the ideal partner in helping you embed these technologies in ways that can move your organization forward.