IYLI’s interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is based on data that students of African descent in the U.S. have become the group least involved in STEM fields, despite the increase in career opportunities and need for new and innovative solutions to serious challenges facing our communities, nation and planet.

With the support of the Riverside Church Giving Fund, high school girls participated in a semester long program to increase their proficiency and interest in science and engineering. Based on a pre- and post- test students became more knowledgeable about and interested in careers in the STEM fields and expressed a greater confidence that they can succeed in difficult science, engineering and math courses.

IYLI conducts a summer program in Senegal for U.S. and Senegalese students to explore basic principles of physics in the context of energy use. The program includes practical examples from everyday life to provide a global understanding of the different forms of energy and how they relate to everyday life. The program exposes students to the math and physics behind the use and production of energy.