Education Outreach Programs
SVEC’s mission is to bridge the gap between young talent and innovation by fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and technical excellence in future engineers. We collaborate with SVEC’s member societies to expand access to STEM opportunities, mentorship from industry professionals, and early exposure to engineering and emerging technologies.
– Join us to build innovation that matters –
Collaboration with the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Educational Outreach programs enable member societies or other sponsors to expand their impact through educational outreach while also creating meaningful development opportunities for their own members.
SVEC Education Outreach Staff – Student Council leaders
SVEC’s outreach programs are organized and conducted by Outreach Committee Chair, Catherine Fang, PhD, committee members and Student Council leaders. These talented students contribute their time and expertise to share their passion for engineering science and education in order to engage others to follow in their footsteps. SVEC is grateful for the contributions of Elizabeth Ren and Aisya Aziz.
Elizabeth Ren is a current junior at Castilleja School who is interested in the intersection of biology, chemistry, and emerging AI innovations. She co-published and presented a literature review titled “Music Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Literature Review on Therapeutic Efficacy, Limitations, and AI Integration” at IEEE UEMCON 2024. Additionally, she co-led a computational bioethics lab and received the Emerging Leadership Award in Bioethics at the 1st Silicon Valley Young Scholars AI Workshop, sponsored by IEEE in 2025. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys a myriad of interests: she played flute for three years with the SJYS Avant & Avancé Flute Choirs (2022–2025) and continues to perform in her school ensemble. She is also a dedicated member of the Castilleja Varsity cross country and track teams.
Aisya Aziz is Chief Technology Officer at LiquiDonate, where she builds technology enabling retailers to offer seamless giving experiences while driving sustainable and circular outcomes for unsold inventory. She focuses on scalable platforms that improve transparency, efficiency, and measurable impact for nonprofit partners. Previously, she led engineering across enterprise-grade platforms, specializing in distributed systems, data and AI integrations, and large-scale, multi-stakeholder operations.
Sponsor/Societies Benefits
In alignment with the SVEC mission, sponsors and member societies realize:
Expanded Outreach & Visibility: Access to a broader and more diverse student audience through established platforms, allowing societies to showcase their expertise, scale their impact, and strengthen their presence in STEM education.
Member Development & Career Exposure: Opportunities for society members, especially students and early-career participants, to engage with industry professionals, gain exposure to real-world engineering environments, and explore early pathways to engineering careers.
To discuss partnerships or plan future outreach events, please contact:
Catherine Fang, PhD, Educational Outreach Committee Chair outreach@svec.org
Program partnership with SV Young Scholars
SVEC partners with SV Young Scholars (SVYS), a non-profit established in 2019, advances real-world innovation in science and engineering. SVYS empowers the next generation of STEM leaders through hands-on research, professional development, and technical community-building, supported by IEEE, ACM, and SVEC.
Upcoming Events
Past Events
STEM Zone Event Recap, April 19, 2026
STEM Zone is an event hosted by the city of Santa Clara that serves as a platform where students, innovators, and local companies and organizations can showcase technology, sustainability, and creativity alongside the global excitement of major sports. The event includes speaker panels, activity booths, STEM workshops and exhibit partner booths.
The SVEC Outreach team joined students, families, and educators for hands-on STEM activities, mentorship, and early exposure to engineering and emerging technologies.
“We’re excited to be part of this – excellent team and vibes,
look forward to more collaboration….!”
From EntreConnect
AI Workshop 2-14-26
Workshop Tracks
– AI Diffusion Model & Use Cases – Sponsor Nvidia
– Demystify Food Chemistry
– Demystify Math in Daily Life
https://www.svyoungscholars.org/
Summer AI Workshops for Young Scholars
June 7-8, 2025
When: Saturday and Sunday, June 7-8, 2025, 10am-6pm PDT
Where: Cupertino Community Hall and Maker Nexus
Join us for engaging workshops designed for high school, college, and young professionals. Win awards in Hackathon! Receive certificate.
AGENDA
Day 1 – Engaging AI Workshops
June 7 10am-5pm
1. MIT App Inventor –Rapid android mobile app creation for future tech projects
2. Accelerating Python Code – NVIDIA RAPIDS and GPU acceleration for data science workloads
3. AR/VR Digital Twin – Exploration with AR/VR digital twin in an immersive environment
4. Responsible AI – Fair and safe use of artificial intelligence without harm
- Network Opportunities
- Quiz Challenge to Earn Prizes
- Refreshments and lunch included
DAY 1 LOCATION: Cupertino Community Hall, 10300 Torre Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014
Day 2 – Hackathon Competition
June 8 10am-6pm
- MakerNexus Hands-On Lab
- Awards Ceremony
- Refreshments and lunch included
Discover E Lab Science Adventure – April 5, 2025
DiscoverE Science Adventure Lab on Saturday, April 5th, from 3–6 PM at Eurofins EAG Lab in Sunnyvale.
This immersive event allows students in grades 3–12 to become young scientists for the day by exploring optical microscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, density measurement, and more in a real lab setting. Participants will work in small teams to analyze mystery plastics using high-tech instrumentation, guided by scientists and engineers. Parents are welcome to join. Space is limited to 20 students, so early registration is recommended!
Co-hosted by:
SVEC DiscoverE, SFBay ACM Young Scholars, and Eurofins EAG Lab
2023 Discover E Award Winners
Larry Winterlin
Independence High School
UC Davis BS Mechanical Engineering 1982.
IBM and Hitachi GST as Equipment Engineer working on automated equipment to manufacture hard disks for hard drives 1982-2011.
2013 – 2014 CTE Teacher Alameda High School teaching digital citizenship and multimedia art.
2014 – 2017 CTE Teacher North Monterrey County High School teaching a variety of computer based classes including multimedia art, and robotics.
2017 – Present Teacher Independence High School teaching engineering classes (Project Lead the Way Principals of Engineering and Aerospace Engineering).
Club Advisor for both MESA and Hydrogen RC Car Club. Industrial Arts Department Instructional Lead 2018-Present
Lakshmi Warrier
Dougherty Valley High School
Lakshmi Warrier, MS has been a science educator with SRVUSD since 2016. She currently teaches Biology and AP Biology at Dougherty Valley High School since 2017, is curriculum lead for the Science department, and advises multiple student clubs including Science Alliance. She has also taught Biology and Honors Anatomy Physiology at San Ramon Valley High School, and obtained her teaching credential through the Kalmanovitz School of Education at Saint Mary’s College of California. As an educator, Mrs. Warrier is passionate about experiential learning and social justice. To address equitable access to science resources and opportunities, she has curated a class site (wondersofbio.com) and online courses for Biology and AP Biology (wondersofbio.thinkific.com). She has also spoken at conferences on diversity and equity in science education and served on committees to plan and implement Next Generation Science Standards.