Calif. Academy of Math & Science PLTW Students Win Super Bowl of Engineering Design

Calif. Academy of Math & Science PLTW Students Win Super Bowl of Engineering Design


The finals of the PLTW and Chevron sponsored challenge took place in San Diego in May

San Diego, CA -- Twelve teams of students from California high competed for prizes in the second annual Chevron-sponsored PLTW California State Introduction to Engineering Design (IED) Challenge on Saturday, May 22, in San Diego, CA. The challenge was sponsored by one of Project Lead The Way’s biggest supporters – Chevron, the third largest corporation in the U.S. Chevron is committed to helping fund the expansion of PLTW science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in schools up and down the State of California.

Two engineers from Chevron Energy Solutions, Pablo Alvarez and Conrad Newberry, along with  local electrical engineer Richard Spehn and San Diego State University Affiliate Director for PLTW Bruce Westermo judged students’ final PowerPoint presentations during the afternoon of the Design Challenge. California Academy of Mathematics and Science PLTW students David Doan, Jyrrl Figueroa and Renzo Revilla, took first place, jumping out of their seats to collect the prize – an HP laptop for each team member.

Moments before the names of the winners were announced Chevron Policy, Government and Public Affairs Manager Juan Garcia, who also watched the student presentations, addressed the crowd: “I don’t think we have anything to worry in terms of leaving the world in your hands as future leaders, future scientists, or future engineers,” he told students. “For us at Chevron, this is a great partnership we’ve developed with Project Lead The Way.”

PLTW is the nation's leading provider of STEM education programs. The Chevron Corporation has committed more than $3 million to supporting schools in and around Chevron facilities in California, Louisiana and Texas both by funding the implementation of the program and with events like the PLTW Engineering Design Challenge.
   
The challenge began with 12 teams, each a winner of a regional competition, set up in a computer lab at Santana High School in Santee, CA, with the Autodesk Inventor 2011 software program. They had only one day to design a solar-powered bus-stop that met prescribed design specifications. At various times during the day, the teams were required to submit sketches, assembly drawings, parts drawings and an exploded – yes, that’s a technical term – view with parts lists for judging.

While the students worked in the lab, PLTW teacher/coaches who traveled to San Diego with them could only provide advice during the lunch break. Otherwise they had to sit and wait.

“This competition is a great experience for the students to do outside of the classroom, to see the value of what they’ve been learning in the classroom,” said PLTW Master Teacher Bakari Holmes, as his team of PLTW students from Gunn High School in San Jose, CA, worked in the next room. “They’re not just presenting for the teacher, but they’re now presenting in front of a panel of judges and engineers. My students felt really special, because they’re ninth graders and now own an iPad 2 because they won first place at the San Jose Regional Competition.”

Second place winners of the challenge were Jannat Saxena, Tyler Miller and Mishan Golshan from Westmont High School in San Jose and third place was a tie between Bakari’s students – Margaret Qian, Cathering Nguyen and Ray Chen – from Gunn High School and students from Warren High School in Downey – Juan Lopez, Daniel Ramos and Brian Gonzalez.

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About Chevron
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company's success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of approximately 62,000 employees who operate across the energy spectrum. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels and other renewables. Chevron has been headquartered in California for 130 years and is the state's largest company. Chevron operations indirectly support approximately one in every 250 jobs in the state. The company generated $9.2 billion in economic output in California in 2007, and has spent nearly $2 billion with small businesses in the state since 2007, approximately 40 percent of which are minority- and women-owned. More information is available at www.chevron.com/CA.

About Us
Project Lead The Way, Inc., a nonprofit organization with 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status, is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education curricular programs used in schools. PLTW's comprehensive curriculum has been collaboratively designed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators to promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving skills in students. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. More than 350,000 students in nearly 4,000 schools in 50 states plus Washington, D.C., are currently taking PLTW . For more information, visit www.pltw.org.

Dusty Brandel

President of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, Inc. Worked with Mike Hollander since Tapsis, Compuserve, etc. and has posted to the website since the beginning. First Female photo-journalist to be given a garage and pit pass for the NASCAR garage, 1972 at Ontario Motor Speedway. One of first seven female writers, photographers given access to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage and pits in 1971. Past President of Greater Los Angeles Press Club, 1992-96, and first female editor of the 8-Ball publication for the Press Club

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Volume 2011, Issue 5, Posted 12:54 PM, 06.10.2011