Newswise — 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
AlaskaASCE Anchorage Branch
AlabamaAuburn UniversityTennessee Valley – National Education Partnership Alliance
ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas, Little Rock
ArizonaArizona State University
CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California, Los AngelesStanford University
ConnecticutUniversity of New Haven
District of ColumbiaThe George Washington University
DelawareUniversity of Delaware
FloridaUniversity of North FloridaFlorida International UniversityFAMU – Florida State University College of Engineering
GeorgiaAtlanta University CenterUniversity of GeorgiaSavannah State University
IowaDes Moines Public SchoolsIowa Central Community CollegeUniversity of Iowa College of EngineeringNorthwest Area Educational Agency
IdahoBoise State UniversityUniversity of Idaho-Moscow
IllinoisNormal Community High SchoolTriton CollegeIllinois Institute of Technology, Wheaton
IndianaPurdue University, CalumetTrine UniversityMarian UniversityRose-Hulman Institute of Technology
KentuckyUniversity of KentuckyMurray State University
LouisianaNicholls State University
MassachusettsHarvard UniversityUniversity of Massachusetts, Lowell
MarylandFrederick MD NSBE Alumni/Bechtel
MichiganGrand Valley State UniversityMichigan Technological University/NSBE
MinnesotaItasca Community College
MissouriSt. Louis Community College, Florissant ValleyUniversity of Missouri, ColumbiaDeVry University, Kansas City CampusMissouri State University
North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina, CharlotteEast Carolina University
North DakotaNorth Dakota State UniversityUniversity of North Dakota
NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska, LincolnWayne State College
New JerseyNew Jersey Institute of Technology
New YorkClarkson UniversityPolytechnic Institute of New YorkMonroe Professional Engineers Society
OhioOhio Northern UniversityUniversity of AkronOhio University, AthensUniversity of CincinnatiBelmont Technical CollegeUniversity of Toledo
PennsylvaniaNorthwest Tri-County: McLane, Church, EndinboroWidener UniversityPennsylvania State University, Wilkes BarrePennsylvania State University, FayetteWarwick High SchoolNorth Allegheny Senior High School
South CarolinaGreenville Technical College
TennesseeVanderbilt University
TexasMidwestern State UniversityUniversity of Texas, DallasUniversity of Texas, BrownsvilleUniversity of Texas, San AntonioUniversity of Houston
UtahUniversity of Utah
VirginiaLiberty UniversityNorfolk State UniversityVirginia Military Institute
WashingtonSeattle University/Clean Water Foundation
WisconsinMilwaukee School of EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison
West VirginiaMarshall UniversityWest Virginia University
WyomingUniversity of Wyoming
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