Dr. Matthew J. Traum has been honored with the 2024 Santa Fe College TRIO Community Partnership Award for his outstanding contributions to the STEMTank program. This prestigious award recognizes Dr. Traum’s five-year collaboration with the Santa Fe College (SF) TRIO office in providing transformative summer camp experiences for disadvantaged high school students in north-central Florida. Dr. Traum is CED’s Assocaite Director and a Senior Lecturer and Instructional Associate Professor in UF’s Mechanical and Aerospace Enginering Department.
“This prestigious honor is a testament to Dr. Traum’s exceptional contributions to STEMTank and his unwavering commitment to empowering first-generation, low-income students in STEM education,” said Jodi Doher, Director of SF’s Educational Talent Search program and STEMTank’s program lead.
In part the award commendation reads “Dr. Traum’s leadership and dedication have been instrumental to the success of STEMTank, which has been transformative for countless students. His ability to go beyond traditional instruction and inspire greatness in students sets him apart as an exceptional educator and mentor.”
STEMTank demonstrates profound positive impact on participating high school students as evidenced by its participants’ success – including students who have won scholarly awards, presented research at conferences, and matriculated into STEM college majors. Dr. Traum’s impact on students is complemented by his ongoing research on best practices in pedagogy. These instructional innovations have helped STEMTank win numerous recognitions including the American Society for Engineering Education Commission on P-12 Engineering Education 2023 Summer Spotlight and the Association of Florida Colleges Workforce Adult & Continuing Education Commission’s 2020 Exemplary Practice Award.
“Working with my Santa Fe College TRIO colleagues to engage our community’s underserved high school students in engineering and get them excited about STEM careers is among the most rewarding parts of my job,” Dr. Traum said. “I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition from TRIO, and I look forward to continuing our STEMTank collaboration.”