Six area high school students are winners of the 8th Annual Engineering Design and Development (EDD) Scholarship Competition and PLTW Showcase, hosted April 29 by Wichita State University’s College of Engineering.
The competition attracted 116 students from 14 Kansas middle and high schools who are enrolled in Project Lead The Way (PLTW) pre-engineering courses. Only seniors enrolled in the PLTW capstone course, Engineering Design and Development, and who enroll in one of WSU's College of Engineering programs in fall 2014 are eligible for the scholarships.
The competition calls on students to work individually or with a team of up to four to develop a solution to an open-ended engineering problem. Projects are judged based on problem presentation and solution, project design, testing, real data and conclusions, and overall presentation effectiveness. Winners include:
- First Place, $2,000 – The Curved Tent Stake, Harry Collins, Wichita West High School, Teacher: Jim Pugh
- Second Place, $1,000 each – Blind Corner Vehicle Detection System, Jordan Schroeder and Tyler Shelly, Newton High School, Teacher: Brian Rickard
- Third Place, $500 each – Das Air Filter, Dylan Bowman, Austin Admire and Shailyn Crisp, Winfield High School, Teacher: Carey Lybarger
Scholarships funds come from a grant from the Knight Foundation.
The following additional students received honors for projects completed in other PLTW courses:
- Introduction to Engineering Design – Interlocking Furniture Design, Blake Hawkins and Koby Herbst, Valley Center High School, Teacher: Dustin Little
- Principles of Engineering - Marble Sorter using iPhone App, Bill Messenger and Dylan Resciniti, Kingman High School, Teacher: Gary Chisam
- Specialty Courses (tie) – Aerospace Engineering - Aerospace Projects, Jovan Lawless and Sheema Ahmed, Wichita Northeast Magnet High School, Teacher: Alan Schmidt; and Civil Engineering and Architecture - Architectural Renovations, Bennett Hobbs, Derby High School, Teacher: Chris Shetlar
- Gateway to Technology – Death Drop, Robby Carlisle, Wichita Mead Middle School, Teacher: Kristy Duggan
The EDD Competition and PLTW Showcase is part of a larger effort by WSU College of Engineering to promote engineering education in K-12 classrooms. Since 2008, WSU has provided more than $2.2 million in grant money to support implementation of Project Lead The Way curriculum, expanding the number of schools offering engineering courses from seven in 2008 to 88 in 2013-14.
To learn more about Project Lead The Way and other K-12 outreach initiatives of the WSU College of Engineering, visit www.wichita.edu/engineeringK12outreach.