[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.

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