UGA promotes Northrop Grumman Scholarships for high schools for the 2011 TEAMS competition

First-time participating high schools have an opportunity to earn one of three Northrop Grumman Scholarships to cover registration fees for their teams to compete in the Junior Engineering Technical Society’s 2011 TEAMS competition to be hosted by the University of Georgia on February 23.
For the past two years, several teams of high school students from across Georgia have participated in the daylong competition at UGA. New participants can earn a scholarship to cover the $125 registration fee by registering and meeting a set of criteria.

“TEAMS, or Tests of Engineering, Aptitude, Mathematics and Science, brings math and science to life for students, fostering creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving,” said John Mativo, an assistant professor in the College of Education’s department of workforce education, leadership and social foundations, and a member of the UGA Faculty of Engineering, who is co-directing the competition.

The competition features high school students (grades 9-12) participating in teams of four to eight members, using real-world applications of math and science to solve some of today’s greatest engineering challenges. The TEAMS 2011 theme is “Smarter Energy. Cleaner Planet.” There are two parts: a 90-minute, 80 multiple choice question session and a 90-minute, open-ended, four-question session.

First-time participating teams seeking one of the Northrop Gruman Scholarships are required to register for the competition through the JETS-TEAMS website: www.jets.org/teams/and indicate that UGA is the team’s host. On the day of competition, the team’s school will be reimbursed the registration fee if it meets the criteria below and was notified as one of the three finalists.

1.This is the first time the school’s team has participated in the competition (new school).

2.The team is a new club in its respective school, such as Engineering/Science Club.

3.The distance the team traveled to UGA.

To earn a scholarship, teams must write a paragraph of approximately 500 words on why they should be considered for the Northrop Grumman Scholarship. Applications should be emailed to: Dr. John M Mativo at jmativo@uga.edu by Jan. 10, 2011.Selected teams will be notified by Jan. 20.

“The competition benefits students by showing them why math and science matter in the real world,” said Mativo. “Its academic rigor challenges students with new topics and new ideas. In addition, participants receive inside information about college scholarship and can win great prizes.”

Last year, participating teams—from Northside High School; Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology; The Academy of Richmond County; Cross Creek High School; Hephzibah High School; and Grayson High School—brought 64 students for competition.

Mativo is co-directing the competition with Chi Thai, an associate professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering, and member of the faculty of engineering; and assisted by Nancy Vandergrift, a program coordinator with the UGA Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics initiative.

More than 14,000 students across the country participate annually in TEAMS competitions. Questions are aligned with national education standards. UGA is one of two sites hosting the competition in Georgia. The other site is the Atlanta University Center.

TEAMS competition site sponsors include: Harvard University, Itasca Community College, National Education Partnership Alliance, Shell and Starbucks.

More information about TEAMS, the UGA College of Education and Northrop Grumman is available at the following websites: www.jets.org/teams/, www.coe.uga.edu/ and www.northropgrumman.com/.

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