TEAMS 2008 Competition in Review

Thanks to all the students, coaches, universities, volunteers and sponsors who made TEAMS 2008 a success! Overall, 1,180 teams from 648 high schools went "Behind the Scenes" and experienced the engineering involved in coordinating athletic events. From protecting the environment and building the athletic facilities to using engineering principles to help athletes win gold medals, this year was the first TEAMS competition in history to revolve around a theme.

Congratulations to all those who participated and to the top performing teams in each division. For the complete list of national rankings, click here.

Varsity
Division 1: Northern Cass High School
Division 2: Hopkins School
Division 3: Walther Lutheran High School
Division 4: Detroit Country Day School
Division 5: Clayton High School
Division 7: Vernon Hills High School
Division 9: Libertyville High School

Junior Varsity
Division Group: Stoughton/Madison West High School
Division 1: Ronald Reagan Doral Senior High
Division 2: Oklahoma School of Science & Math
Division 3: Briarwood Christian
Division 4: The Harker School
Division 5: Clayton High School
Division 7: New Canaan High School
Division 9: Naperville Central High School

If you missed out on this year's competition, don't worry because JETS will kick off another great TEAMS competition in 2009. Where will TEAMS take students next… Behind the Scenes: Theme Parks!

Interested in being a part of TEAMS?
Click here to order a free DVD.

The National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC) is a competition educating young people about careers in engineering, raising social awareness, and inspiring a spirit of engagement and a willingness to help others.

Teams of students will design an Assistive Technology (AT) device to help a person with a disability to perform or increase productivity in his or her job. Students will choose a scenario from two options and work with a person with a disability.

Winning students have an opportunity to travel and win recognition for their creativity. The five top teams win an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC to present their designs and compete for prizes at the annual NEDC Finals Competition held in February. The winning team receives $3,000 for their school's sponsoring department, plus a trip to the NISH National Training and Achievement Conference. Two additional winning teams will be awarded $1,500 for their school's sponsoring department.

Registration opens August 2008.
All registration and application information will be available online Summer 2008.

There is no registration fee to compete in the NEDC. In addition, scholarships are offered on a case by case basis to assist with costs associated with the construction of the device. The application and report submissions are all online. To learn more, Visit the NEDC website.

• Manishika Agaskar, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Pennington, NJ
  
• Thomas Dickman, St. Xavier High School, Cincinnati, OH
  
• Caroline Suen, Lynbrook High School, San Jose, CA
  
• Eric Sweigart, Charter School of Wilmington, Newark, DE

Each student submitted an application and wrote an essay about a power industry related topic. After careful review from the Scholarship's Steering Committee, these outstanding students were selected from more than 50 students nationwide who competed for the Scholarship.

The essay question:
What attracts you to a possible career in the electric power industry? Cite three ways a power engineering education could make a difference in your community.

JETS and Power Engineering extend special appreciation to the corporate sponsors who committed time and financial support to help establish this scholarship.

Are you interested in developing or enhancing a program to encourage girls in technology, science or engineering? Would you like to gain girl-tested, hands-on curriculum and learn strategies for success? The Techbridge Summer Training Institute will be hosted August 4-6, 2008 in Oakland, CA. A program of Chabot Space & Science Center, Techbridge has served over 2,000 girls in after-school and summer programs since 2000, offering hands-on engineering and technology projects and career exploration opportunities such as field trips to corporate worksites and classroom visits by role models. During the Summer Institute, participants will be trained on our curriculum — such as Green Design, Renewable Energy, Circuitry and Electronics, and Cars & Engines — while learning the tools and strategies for achieving success to engage girls in technology and science.

For more information, please visit www.techbridgegirls.org/ programs_institute.asp or contact Jennifer Wei at jwei@chabotspace.org or 510-777-9170 x308.