Join the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Office of Education on May 30, 6-7:30 p.m. ET, to hear from Thomas "Tom" Jenkins, Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellow for the 2022–2023 school year, who will share his thoughts about invention education in practice.
Topics of this webinar will include:
- How Tom led students to secure a patent with pro bono support from Microsoft's Make What’s Next
- The path that led Tom to be an invited educator at NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Defense
- What Tom's working on now and his hopes to integrate intellectual property (IP) and invention education
Tom is a National Board Certified Teacher from Enon, Ohio. Drawing on his firsthand research experience as an educator invited aboard SOFIA — NASA's flying observatory — and as a NOAA Teacher at Sea, he focuses on data-driven critical thinking skills. In Clark County, Ohio, his InvenTeam of high school students and teachers secured a Lemelson-MIT grant to create a device that helps protect Ohio’s waterways from pollution. Microsoft's Make What's Next recently helped the team secure a patent for their invention.
Tom has also worked with students as a Teaching Fellow for Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering and as a lead instructor at Air Camp. He mentored educators as an instructor at Wittenberg University, as a manager of special projects at the Dayton Regional STEM Center, and as the Boeing Science Laureate at Teaching Channel. Tom is currently involved with the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program and is being hosted by the Department of Defense STEM program at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division.
The USPTO hosts monthly professional development webinars for K-12 educators interested in integrating IP, innovation, and invention activities into their STEM/STEAM curriculum. Whether you’re a school administrator, teacher, student, parent, or caregiver, you are welcome to join us every month to hear from educators and learn about different types of IP, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. These sessions can help inspire a classroom of problem solvers and shape career choices. Sessions are held by webinar on the last Tuesday of each month from 6-7:30 p.m. ET.
Visit the USPTO's Office of Education page or email education@uspto.gov to learn more.
Accessibility accommodation
If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please submit your request to the contact information listed above.