TEWKSBURY, Mass., March 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) engineer Alex Sanchez was recently appointed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to the commonwealth's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Advisory Council.

The governor's STEM Advisory Council was established by an executive order for the commonwealth to "leverage more effectively its resources in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math; enhance the state's STEM workforce; increase the number of high-skills STEM jobs; and keep high school and college graduates in the commonwealth." Lt. Gov. Tim Murray serves as the council's chair.

Sanchez has conducted research and spoken on education in the U.S. Additionally, in collaboration with the Business-Higher Education Forum, he was involved in a Raytheon initiative to create an education model that emphasizes the importance of STEM education. The forum consists of industry, business and government leaders focused on providing visibility, encouragement and support for STEM education in the region and the U.S. William H. Swanson, Raytheon Chairman and CEO, serves as vice chairman of BHEF.

"As a result of my work on modeling the dynamics of the U.S. education system and my involvement at meetings and conferences, I was nominated by Gov. Patrick's office to serve on the council," Sanchez said. "I am honored by the appointment and eager for the opportunity to continue to evaluate and make recommendations to strengthen STEM in our education system. It is very important to our state and our nation."    

Sanchez is a senior principal systems engineer assigned to Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, headquartered in Tewksbury, Mass. He works in Mission Innovation, a group whose mission is to apply the company's expertise to challenges outside Raytheon's traditional core business interests in defense, homeland security and other government markets.

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

SOURCE Raytheon Company