Contact: Karen Baker,412-281-2345 School Phone: 517-325-6640
Lansing Students Named Finalists in National Competition
Team Wins Trip to Epcot to Present Ingenious Emergency Alert Device
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 17--A team of four Pattengill Middle School students today became one of only 10 teams in the nation to be named finalists in the Bayer/National Science Foundation Award for Community Innovation, a cutting-edge program that challenges middle school students to use science and technology to make their community a better place to live.
A team of determined 8th graders, coached by teacher Andon Pogoncheff, developed a device that alerts emergency vehicles, unmistakably, to the scene of an emergency. The team’s "Rescuer" invention consists of a distinct-sounding buzzer that attaches to a porch light, and sends out a "double signal" of light and sound meant to help emergency response teams find the scene of the emergency with ease.
"When emergency vehicles respond to a given location, they may be delayed in arriving if the address is not readily seen from the street," said team members Tu Nguyen, Colleen Jones, Adam Cantu and Casey Elliston. "With our audio-visual invention, the flashing light attracts the attention of the emergency response team, and the audio sound can be heard blocks away."
The students began developing their entry last fall. They conducted research and worked with scientists, community leaders and other mentors to develop and test their solutions, then submitted an entry comprised of written and visual components. Their proposal was selected by a national panel of judges as one of the top 10 from among nearly 500 entries submitted nationwide.
Teams to Compete for $25,000 Grant, Savings Bonds at Epcot®. As finalists, each team and their coach have won an all-expenses-paid trip to Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort June 20-26, where they will compete in the Bayer/NSF Award's National Championship, held in conjunction with the Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation.
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The first-, second- and third-place teams will receive $20,000, $12,000 and $4,000 in savings bonds, respectively. One team will win the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant, seed money to help bring the team's idea to life in the community.
While at Epcot®, the students will present their projects to a prestigious panel of national judges and attend the Christopher Columbus Academy, a custom-designed educational experience that explores the science and technology of the theme park. They also will meet with many of the nation's leading scientists being honored by the Discover Awards.
The 2000 Bayer/NSF Award judging panel includes Renee Anderson, director of Saturday Academy Outreach Initiative; Art Fry, 3-M scientist and inventor of the Post-It Note; Greg Hale, director of Ride and Show Engineering at Walt Disney World Corporation; Dr. James Youniss, professor and director of the Life Cycle Institute at Catholic University; and William Warren, a scientist with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Other finalists include SnoWheeler 2000, Salt Lake City; Save Me Sticky, Sacramento; Batty 4 Bats, Parkville (Kansas City); HELP (Helping Everyone Love Plants), Middletown, OH; Science Squad, Houston; Kiddie Katcher, Sanford (Orlando); Ocean Invaders, Summerville (Charleston, SC); RxAlert, Saddlebrook, NJ; and Neck Savers, Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
Attracting Kids to Science and Community Service
Sponsored by Bayer Corporation as part of its Making Science Make Sense program, the National Science Foundation, the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and Discover Magazine, the Bayer/NSF Award was created after studies revealed that US students fall behind their peers around the world in science achievement at the middle school level.
Now in its fourth year, the program is endorsed by the National Middle School Association and incorporates many of the recommendations of the National Science Education Standards, emphasizing teamwork, inquiry and real-world settings to attract students to science, technology and community.
Students and teachers interested in participating in the Bayer/NSF Award during the 2000-2001 school year should visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com or call 1-800-291-6020.