Lockheed Martin's Central Florida businesses will support local activities to promote math and science education for students during National Engineers Week, February 19-25. Through fun hands-on activities, students will learn about engineering and engineering careers.

Lockheed Martin strongly endorses the American Competitiveness Initiative announced recently by President Bush during his State of the Union address. National Engineers Week complements the initiative, as its goal is to recognize and celebrate achievements in science and engineering -- built upon a solid foundation of math and science principles.

"At Lockheed Martin, we know firsthand the importance of educating our young people in math and science. Our future success -- and our nation's technological advantage -- depends on a constant supply of highly trained, highly capable technical talent," said Bob Stevens, Lockheed Martin chairman, president and CEO.

Throughout the week, employees at Lockheed Martin facilities in the area will visit schools and host game-show-style competitions to offer students unique and engaging insights into how engineers impact our everyday lives. Employees will also support the University of Central Florida Minorities in Engineering program's Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics Enhancement (SECME) regional competition. Lockheed Martin employees will also invite students from several local schools to tour its facilities and will host several activities, including an Engineering Design Challenge and a "Who Wants to be an Engineer?" competition for local students.

"We look forward to showing local students how exciting a career in engineering can be," said Eileen Eberley, a senior software engineer and a chairman of Lockheed Martin's Central Florida National Engineers Week's efforts. "By engaging the students in fun activities throughout the week, we hope to teach them the fundamentals of the field and inspire them to pursue a career in engineering. We hope the efforts we are putting into raising students' awareness of engineering today will help to foster a strong technical workforce for the future."

National Engineers Week presents an ideal opportunity to reach out to students, from kindergarten through college, with activities in schools and in the community. Supported by a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering, educational and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies, National Engineers Week is dedicated to raising public awareness of engineers' positive contributions to our quality of life. Activities throughout the week promote recognition amongst parents, teachers and students of the importance of a technical education and a high level of math, science, and technology literacy, motivating youths to pursue engineering careers in order to provide a diverse, vigorous and informed engineering workforce. Each year National Engineers Week reaches thousands of schools, businesses, and community groups across the United States.

Lockheed Martin is a corporate sponsor of National Engineers Week, which was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. The week's activities continue to grow each year, and in 2004, expanded to the international community.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

For additional information, visit our web site:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin