Senior Advisor, CONNSTEP
Jack Crane is honored for his lifelong commitment to K-12 education and his support of Connecticut’s manufacturing and small businesses. He has served the New Haven Public Schools Science Fair Program for 28 years. The Program engages the district’s K-12 students in hands-on science projects as a vehicle for fostering excitement in learning, promoting science literacy, and introducing the opportunities available through careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics).
Jack has served as Program Director and led the New Haven Science Fair Program Steering Committee. His leadership helped the district’s fair to thrive despite the pandemic. He continues to focus on the future and how the New Haven Science Fair Program can have a greater impact by reaching out to elementary school students and their parents; making them aware of opportunities for STEM jobs in the area.
As a senior advisor for CONNSTEP, a consulting group that helps manufacturers and other smaller businesses, Jack is particularly sensitive to the need for a highly skilled workforce to meet current and future business demands. He works closely with ReadyCT, a leader in K-12 career pathway programming, to ensure that students and employers have what they need to set them up for future success. Both CONNSTEP and ReadyCT are affiliates of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA).
In 2001, he and the rest of the NHSF Program team received the sixth Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring to recognize their efforts on behalf of traditionally underrepresented students in STEM. In 2002, he was recognized by the New Haven Public Education Fund for his contribution to students, staff, and parents. He received the 1998 Elm-Ivy Award for his outstanding contributions to building bonds between New Haven and Yale University. In 2023, Jack was named Volunteer of the Year by the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.
Jack earned a BS at Purdue University and a master’s degree at Yale University, both in metallurgical engineering. He was Director of New Products R&D for Olin Corporation’s Metals Division, has authored or co-authored more than 50 papers on new products, synthesis, and fabrication of materials, and is also the holder or co-holder of more than 30 patents related to alloys, processes, and products. He is a fellow of the American Society of Materials, a recipient of the UCONN Engineering Services Award, and the first-ever recipient of the National Institute of Science & Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership Lifetime Achievement Award. Jack also received the Manufacturing Hall of Fame’s 2017 Leadership Award.