Students benefit from seeing role models who look like them, especially for Black students in STEM subjects, writes Jessie Woolley-Wilson, president and CEO of DreamBox Learning. In this blog post, Woolley-Wilson writes about current Black STEM leaders who can be role models for students, including Timnit Gebru, a researcher who focuses on ethical artificial intelligence, and Alexa Canady, the first African American female neurosurgeon in the US.

Educational robotics makes project-based and STEM learning easier, says former teacher Jason McKenna, now the global education strategy director of VEX Robotics. McKenna argues that students have strong engagement and gain career preparation by learning about robotics.

High-school teacher Tamara Clark was convinced that see-through lightboards with neon markers would help remote students understand math better, so her husband, A.J., built her an inexpensive version using tempered glass, LED lights and a camera. Students can see equations and the teacher simultaneously, and a State Farm grant will pay for a dozen more of these lightboards at Bakersfield High School in California.

The dearth of Black doctors starts with school, with Black students facing racism and a lack of representation and support, writes Adaira Landry, a Black emergency physician. In this opinion article, Landry describes the challenges of the past and present as a Black doctor -- sometimes the only Black doctor in a setting -- including "the minority tax" of being expected to devote time for diversity and inclusion programs amid heavy standard expectations of the profession.

Researchers at the Joint European Torus fusion reactor in the UK will start tests in June of a 50/50 deuterium and tritium fuel mix, which will eventually be used to sustain fusion reactions at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project in France. JET researchers are hoping to sustain fusion power for five seconds to collect data on how the plasma behaves with tritium added to the mix.

A truck that weighs around a million pounds and can haul 300 metric tons could be converted into one of the largest emission-free vehicles on Earth. A hydrogen fuel cell generator is being developed by Seattle engineering company First Mode, and company president Chris Voorhees says there are many industrial applications where it can be used.

With a few more great issues left in 2020-21, we're excited to launch the new editorial calendar for 2021-22. Techniques expects to publish four print and four digital issues over the coming year. To meet the moment, each of our four print issues will focus on inclusion, access, equity and diversity. Learn more.

This new workshop, "Developing CTE Lesson Plans for a COVID-19-impacted Classroom," happening March 11 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST, will dive into strategies you can use to support the development of lesson plans tailored to distance, blended, socially distanced or in-classroom learning, while building capacity for high-quality instruction in CTE. The registration rate for this 2.5-hour workshop is $100. Learn more and register.