Sparking the scientific spirit in Space City USA

Enbridge recently supported and participated in the Sally Ride Science Festival at Houston's Rice University

Houston, we have science.

Subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are familiar to Enbridge. Our employees recently got the chance to help spark the science spirit through support of the Sally Ride Science Festival at Houston’s Rice University in late October.

The late Dr. Sally Ride is an honored public figure – a prominent astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman in space at the age of 32. Her legacy could have ended there, but instead she committed to inspiring young people – especially girls – to engage their love of science.

In 2001, Dr. Ride founded Sally Ride Science as a way of motivating young girls to consider pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, otherwise known as the STEM fields. The popular Sally Ride Science Festivals are an opportunity to marry science and socializing for these young students across the United States. At the festivals, kids have the opportunity to explore through hands-on workshops, experiments, street fairs, and more, while also earning face time with former astronauts. For many children, one day’s worth of experience can last a lifetime. To date, more than 100 festivals have been held, with turnouts generally ranging from 500 to 1,000 eager students, parents and teachers.

Seventh grader Kirsten Rogers and her mom Rachel Rogers, a Houston-based supervisor of internal reporting and accounting at Enbridge, have been to the festival twice since 2012. “I love the message that STEM careers can be fun, interesting, and rewarding,” says Rachel. “My seventh grader does not consider herself good at math and science, but loves participating in all the activities at the festival.”

Kirsten’s favorite part of the festival? No question: “Launching a big ball using a robot!”

Enbridge’s festival booth showcased the sophisticated inline inspection (ILI) tools that we use to confirm the integrity of our pipeline system. The tools (also known as “smart pigs”) are sent through the pipelines at regular intervals, inspecting the pipe inch by inch – with a level of detail similar to that provided by MRIs, ultrasound, and X-ray technology in the medical industry.

Dr. Ride’s historic flights aboard the space shuttle Challenger, and her decorated NASA career, made her an inspirational figure and a symbol of ability and determination for women. Dr. Ride passed away in 2012 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. But her legacy lives on – as she continues to inspire young women around the globe to reach beyond the stars, and fuel their imagination with possibilities that might just be out of this world.

Just recently, we presented $1,000 scholarships to six students at Heartland Community College, in Bloomington, Ill., as part of the Enbridge Industry Awareness Program within the U.S. Midwest to support students pursuing STEM-related careers.

STEM careers can be found in abundance throughout Enbridge, including: pipeline integrity, leak detection, and various other pipeline-based engineering applications; quality control; industry-leading research and development; environmental and operational reporting; green energy and power transmission applications; and accounting.

We even use sophisticated and smart robots of our own – in this case, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) – to boost pipeline safety.