By WRAL Tech Wire STEM News

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Some of the latest STEM-related news from the Triangle, North Carolina, the southeast, and the world is just a click away.

• North Carolina’s Eastern Region – specifically Lenoir and Craven counties – hosted U.S. Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education Brenda Dann-Messier last week as she toured several STEM East facilities and participated in a roundtable discussion with students, teachers, and public/private partners. During the tour, she spoke with students and instructors about the innovative approaches on STEM education in their community. She also had the opportunity to meet with community leaders about the way STEM has caught hold in the area. Read more details here.

• A new thrill ride at Carowinds is taking STEM education to new heights, and students recently got a behind-the-scenes look at the park’s newest attraction. Towering 301 feet, Carowinds’ newest ride Windseeker is the tallest structure ever built at the park and is designed to give riders the sensation of flying. Now, students are getting a look at how it really works. Read more details here.

• U.S. News & World Report together with Innovate+Educate, STEMconnector, and more than 40 organizations representing industry and education, will host this event in Dallas, Texas this summer. This three-day national event called STEM Summit 2012 will convene at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel on June 27-29 and will explore solutions and successes in the STEM fields as the pathways to jobs. Read more details here.

• The North Carolina New Schools Project is offering a new lateral entry teacher certification program for college graduates interested in becoming high school science, math and technology teachers. Administered by NCNSP, the non-traditional teacher education program is supported by the federal Transition to Teaching grant program, which seeks to recruit and retain highly-qualified mid-career professionals and recent college graduates who are interested in obtaining a teacher license through an alternative route in a reduced period of time. Read more details here.

• Once again, High Technology High School in New Jersey tops the list of U.S. News’s Best High Schools for STEM. Schools in the northeast and in California fared better than more rural schools – Montana, Mississippi, and Arkansas each failed to put any schools into the top 250. Check out the full rankings here.