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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CMMC Pause: Compliance and Contract Risk Continue
The recent pause in CMMC Phase II delays the expansion of mandatory third-party assessments, but it does not eliminate applicable CMMC or underlying cybersecurity obligations, Phase I self-assessment requirements remain in force. -
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Meeting the Growing Needs for Energy Supply & Energy Security
This webinar will provide a review of the electricity energy supply industry both globally and domestically. In the domestic analysis, the expert presenter will provide a detailed review of the evolution of the electricity energy supply and an analysis of recent trends at different time scales. -
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Lessons Learned from Post-9/11 World Trade Center and Lower Manhattan Transportation Planning and Design
The events of 9/11 devastated critical Lower Manhattan transportation systems. In the early planning and rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s in-house planning and architectural leadership established a master plan framework which considered its impact far into the future. -
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The Hidden Cost: Why Schedule is the Biggest MILCON Premium
Mountain Home AFB in Idaho currently uses groundwater to meet the base’s water needs. The aquifer that supplies the groundwater is rapidly depleting and is expected to run out of water in 30 years. This webinar provides an overview of the 15+ year effort to identify new water supplies and how the base chose to get water from the C.J. Strike Reservoir along the Snake River, 14 miles away. -
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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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Designing for the Unforeseeable
In the challenge of designing military buildings to resist progressive collapse, a revised technical approach offers a simplified way to arrive at a dependable estimate of material needed, potentially increasing cost controls on government projects. -
Revising the Arctic and Subarctic Design and Construction Guidelines
With a renewed focus on the Arctic and subarctic areas of the world due to evolving national security needs and changing environmental conditions, an effort to revise outdated construction and facility criteria for military infrastructure in these remote regions is well underway in preparation for future projects. -
A Cutting-Edge Aquatic Center: Delivered Through Creative Collaboration
To construct a 76,000-ft2 state-of-the-art aquatic training center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland required overcoming various technical complexities and extensive teamwork between stakeholders. -
Sharpening MILCON Delivery Through the Design Charrette
A key element to improving military construction project delivery is the execution of high-quality charrettes—and the tools applicable to effective charrette facilitation can also be applied to industry-government engagements.
