Water is 2010 Focus of National High School Engineering Competition
Alexandria, VA., February 2, 2010 – The Haiti earthquake has spotlighted one of the world’s most pressing problems – the global water shortage. This year, American high school students will get the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and help solve the problem as the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) launches its 31st annual TEAMS competition for 2010.
Themed, “Water, Water Everywhere,” the competition will show students firsthand how engineers in various disciplines, including environmental engineers, civil engineers, and mechanical engineers are involved in the protection and delivery of the world’s water supply.
Some 10,000 ninth- to 12th-graders will gather for one-day over a four-week period from February 15 through March 16 at more than 100 host sites in 42 states, including 79 colleges and universities, and more than 30 high schools (listing at www.JETS.org). The students will then make real-world connections between math and science to engineering by solving actual engineering scenarios.
This year, students will learn that, according to the World Health Organization, nearly one billion people to do not have access to clean, drinkable water, despite the fact that water covers 75 percent of the Earth’s surface, and some 1.8 million people die each year from diarrheal diseases caused by the water shortage.
In solving specific problems, TEAMS students will be challenged to:
• assess the effectiveness of ceramic pot filters developed by geological, environmental and ceramic engineers in disinfecting water;
• analyze and create processes, known as desalination, that remove salt and other impurities from otherwise undrinkable water sources;
• produce Ultrapure Water (UPW) which is essential for industries, such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and electric power generation;
• design technologies that deal with the detrimental effects that land development projects have on communities’ watersheds
“Students may ask: ‘What do engineers and water have in common?’ By participating in this year’s TEAMS competition, they’ll find out that, besides drinking it, cleaning with it and feeding their plants with it, engineers play an increasingly important role in safeguarding the world’s most vital resource,” said Peter Carrato, Bechtel Corporation Fellow and President of the Board of Directors of JETS. “For 50 years, TEAMS has been inspiring a new crop of budding engineers and showing them how much fun, how engaging and how valuable the engineering professions are. With this year’s competition, they’ll discover just how important engineers are to society.”
Between February 15 and March 16, JETS will announce “Best in State” awards for student teams in the participating 42 states.
The two highest ranking level teams in the country will take top honors as the “Best Overall” and will be announced in early April 2010. They will receive $2,500 for their schools. In addition, the Walt Disney World Resort will award the top ranking 11/12 level team a three-night stay at Walt Disney World, including Park Hopper Tickets, and the opportunity to take part in one Disney Youth Education Series program of their choice.
Like the other signature JETS programs, the purpose of TEAMS is to encourage more American students to pursue engineering by showing them just how engineering impacts everyday life and how engineers help solve social and community problems – from building roads and bridges, to developing water purification systems for developing countries, to inventing alternative sources of energy to fuel our cars and keep our homes warm and cool.
About JETS
JETS is a national non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to our nation’s young people. As a prominent force at the secondary school level, JETS engages students in various engineering education programs that are an essential part of fostering the engineering profession. Students in JETS programs are presented the opportunities to: understand how engineers make a difference in our world (Explore); see how their own talents and skills align to engineering majors and occupations (Assess); and participate in exciting real-world based competitions and activities (Experience). JETS programs touch more than 40,000 students and 10,000 educators from 6,000 high schools across the country every year. JETS participants are a diverse group – more than 50 percent are from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in engineering and technology fields, including one-third who are female.
For more information, please visit, www.JETS.org.
2010 TEAMS Host Sites
Alaska
ASCE Anchorage Branch
Alabama
Auburn University
Tennessee Valley – National Education Partnership Alliance
Arkansas
University of Arkansas, Little Rock
Arizona
Arizona State University
California
University of Southern California, Los Angeles Stanford University
Connecticut
University of New Haven
District of Columbia
The George Washington University
Delaware
University of Delaware
Florida
University of North Florida
Florida International University
FAMU – Florida State University College of Engineering
Georgia
Atlanta University Center
University of Georgia
Savannah State University
Iowa
Des Moines Public Schools
Iowa Central Community College
University of Iowa College of Engineering Northwest Area Educational Agency
Idaho
Boise State University
University of Idaho-Moscow
Illinois
Normal Community High School
Triton College
Illinois Institute of Technology, Wheaton
Indiana
Purdue University, Calumet
Trine University
Marian University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Kentucky
University of Kentucky
Murray State University
Louisiana
Nicholls State University
Massachusetts
Harvard University
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Maryland
Frederick MD NSBE Alumni/Bechtel
Michigan
Grand Valley State University
Michigan Technological University/NSBE
Minnesota
Itasca Community College
Missouri
St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley University of Missouri, Columbia DeVry University, Kansas City Campus Missouri State University
North Carolina
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
East Carolina University
North Dakota
North Dakota State University
University of North Dakota
Nebraska
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Wayne State College
New Jersey
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New York
Clarkson University
Polytechnic Institute of New York
Monroe Professional Engineers Society
Ohio
Ohio Northern University
University of Akron
Ohio University, Athens
University of Cincinnati
Belmont Technical College
University of Toledo
Pennsylvania
Northwest Tri-County: McLane, Church, Endinboro Widener University Pennsylvania State University, Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania State University, Fayette Warwick High School North Allegheny Senior High School
South Carolina
Greenville Technical College
Tennessee
Vanderbilt University
Texas
Midwestern State University
University of Texas,
Dallas
University of Texas, Brownsville
University of Texas, San Antonio
University of Houston
Utah
University of Utah
Virginia
Liberty University
Norfolk State University
Virginia Military Institute
Washington
Seattle University/Clean Water Foundation
Wisconsin
Milwaukee School of Engineering
University of Wisconsin, Madison
West Virginia
Marshall University
West Virginia University
Wyoming
University of Wyoming