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
Related TME Articles – College Outreach
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Collaborating with Alaskan Tribes on Cleaning Up Formerly Used Defense Sites
A collaborative program with Alaskan Native communities being led by a research team from the University of Nevada, Reno, is tracking and mitigating impacts from exposure to Formerly Used Defense Sites. -
Conducting Thermal Remediation Under Active Railroad Tracks
As part of the cleanup at a Superfund site that was previously used as waste storage by the Department of Defense, a carefully orchestrated thermal remediation project was conducted that targeted the groundwater plume located underneath a pair of active railroad tracks. -
Extracting and Purifying Rare Earth Elements from Waste
A project underway to develop proteins capable of extracting rare earth elements used in critical defense systems from manufacturing and post-consumer waste aims to secure this vulnerable supply chain and increase national resilience. -
Composting Bioplastic Waste in Expeditionary Environments
A research team at the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory studied the compostability of bioplastics under expeditionary conditions in order to help reduce plastic waste and support policy targets for source reduction and diversion.
