[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E1836] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] TRIBUTE TO THE BROADCOM MASTERS PROGRAM _____ HON. JOHN CAMPBELL of california in the house of representatives Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Broadcom, one of the world's leading chip makers with headquarters in my congressional district, on their announcement of the Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars), a science fair program designed for students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The Broadcom Foundation has partnered with the Society for Science and the Public, SSP, to sponsor and run science fairs, which will involve over 100,000 students from over 350 SSP science fairs around the nation. Of all those participating, judges will nominate 7,500 contestants to compete and, from that group, they will select 300 semi-finalists. Once the semi-finalists compete, 30 students will be chosen for the finals, which will occur in Washington, DC, in the fall of 2011. The winner will receive a $25,000 scholarship from the Henry Samueli Foundation--Mr. Samueli is the founder of Broadcom. I commend Broadcom for its efforts to provide this exciting opportunity for middle school students to showcase their interest in science, technology, engineering and math--what is commonly referred to as STEM education. STEM education is an area in which the United States led the world for many years, but lately, has been consistently outperformed by several countries. This must not continue. America literally cannot afford to lag behind our competitors in math and science education. There are serious consequences for this failure and they impact the future of this country. We must be proactive in addressing the crisis of a shrinking next generation of American engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and chip makers, like those that propel a company such as Broadcom to success. Programs like the Broadcom MASTERS will help to both ignite the imaginations of American students and show that math and science have fascinating applications in the real world. Madam Speaker, I want to express my thanks to the Broadcom Foundation and the Society for Science and the Public for their continued good works, and I look forward to these exciting and inspiring science fairs. ____________________