Community Mission
The College Outreach Community leads collaborative efforts between SAME and academia to identify and resolve national security infrastructure-related challenges and supports Post’s efforts to mentor and develop future STEM professionals at the collegiate-level. The community serves as a bridge between academia, Posts, government (military and civilian), and the private sector. The community provides guidance to the network of student chapters across the Society, promotes internship opportunities from SAME sustaining members, and will establish a new engineering competition for students designed to address the nation’s grand challenges.
Overview
The SAME College Outreach Community strives to organize programs and present opportunities to future military and civilian members of the A/E/C profession that will foster networking within their professional community, build leadership skills, and provide job opportunities to recent graduates. Additionally, students with an active membership within SAME have at their disposal a wealth of knowledge and experiences from professionals throughout the A/E/C community of practice.
Executive Community Structure
Vice Chairs
Danielle Hughes, Communications
Jeffrey Allen, Academia Engagement
Staff Liaison
Sarah Feighery, Program Manager
2026 SAME Undergraduate Innovation Design Challenge
Submissions for the 2025-26 SAME Undergraduate Innovation Design Challenge are due by February 6, 2026. This competition, led by the College Outreach COI, evaluates design projects that are being developed by student members as part of their degree curriculums and highlights the innovative thinking of the next generation of STEM professionals.
Learn more about the Innovation Design ChallengeUpcoming National Webinars
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The Hidden Cost: Why Schedule is the Biggest MILCON Premium
Military construction (MILCON) cost discussions often focus on dollars per square foot, but one of the most significant portion of the overall cost is time. Every month added to a project can increase costs through -
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AI as Load Shock: Rethinking Energy Security and Mission Assurance
The rapid expansion of AI computing, electrification, and mission-critical digital infrastructure is fundamentally altering the energy security landscape. While AI is often discussed as a software capability or data challenge, its most immediate national security impact is physical: unprecedented, concentrated, and inflexible electrical demand that stresses grid infrastructure and traditional resilience assumptions.
Related TME Articles – College Outreach
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The Benefits of Defensive Wetlanding
The practice of strategically creating wetlands to enhance defensive terrain can have significant environmental benefits in addition to increasing defensive military advantages. -
Fortifying Energy Resiliency and Preparedness
At Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, the U.S. Army is achieving energy reliability through a partnership with the private sector on a commercial power plant that is capable of rapidly providing standalone, off-grid power to the base and which it has already proven in a real-world outage event. -
Mitigating PFAS at Naval Air Station Alameda
Historical firefighting training at the former Naval Air Station Alameda led to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance impacts in the groundwater, necessitating the installation of a 720-ft permeable adsorptive barrier. -
Leveraging Data for Better Stormwater Drainage
An extensive drainage study conducted for a pair of airfields in Oklahoma leveraged geospatial technology, stormwater modeling, and data analysis to develop tailored solutions that will help contribute to improved readiness at these key training installations.
