Pratt & Whitney and NAAEE announce $250,000 in global environmental education funding

Pratt & Whitney is excited to announce the Pratt & Whitney E-STEM Awards in partnership with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). The awards will grant a total of $250,000 USD to support innovative E-STEM education programs around the world that build the skills and capacity for students ages 11-18 to use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to address environmental challenges. Interested nonprofits can learn more at prattwhitney.com/ESTEM. Applications will open in May 2022.

Together with NAAEE, Pratt & Whitney will be awarding nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated excellence in established E-STEM education an E-STEM Excellence Prize of up to $50,000 in three regions: Asia-Pacific (APAC); Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and the Americas. The partnership will also offer regional E-STEM Innovation Grants of up to $15,000 to nonprofits that are interested in launching new E-STEM programs. As a leader in developing sustainable aviation technologies, Pratt & Whitney is dedicated to helping students gain access to STEM education through an environmental lens.

“Pratt & Whitney continues to pave the future of sustainable aviation, and as part of that we recognize the need to nurture the next generation of innovative engineers and sustainability experts,” said Satheeshkumar Kumarasingam, chief transformation and strategy officer, Pratt & Whitney, and the champion of the program. “The E-STEM Awards will give more students the opportunity to tackle environmental challenges and inspire real-world solutions.”

“We’re proud to partner with Pratt & Whitney to support nonprofits working with students to solve critical environmental issues using STEM solutions,” said Judy Braus, the executive director of NAAEE. “By building on the passion of our young people, this program opens new career doors, advances STEM learning, and paves the way toward building healthier and more resilient communities.”

Pratt & Whitney is committed to ensuring that future generations of engines are ready to operate with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while improving engine efficiency. The company successfully tested the GTF Advantage engine with 100% SAF in March 2022. The company is also developing a range of technologies to drive further reductions in CO2 emissions from future aircraft designs. Since entering service in 2016, the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine family has saved operators more than 600 million gallons (two billion liters) of fuel and avoided more than six million metric tonnes of CO2. Click here to learn more about the future of sustainable aviation.