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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National Youth CyberPatriot Competition Draws in 575-plus Teams

/PRNewswire/ -- With just two days left before registration closes, CyberPatriot has more than 575 teams registered. This premier competition is the nation's largest and fastest-growing high school cyber defense challenge and is attracting educators across the country.

CyberPatriot is the one-of-a-kind national cyber security competition produced by the Air Force Association (AFA), a nonprofit organization headquartered near Washington, D.C. Its unique structure provides students hands-on learning while competing virtually against their peers. It also allows students to learn first hand about the cyber security field and introduce many to the idea of cyber security as a profession.

Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Japan and Korea are represented in this year's competition. Only Montana and Wyoming have yet to join.

Teams have registered from public, private, parochial and home schools in many states in the competition's Open Division. Additionally, Junior ROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons are rapidly filling the All-Service Division in the two-track competition.

Teams of five, with an approved coach (usually a teacher), learn to defend computer networks from real-life computer threat scenarios. In the preliminaries, hundreds of teams compete online using software provided by CyberPatriot to competitively solve vulnerabilities in a network. The top teams then compete again in a series of online rounds to determine the finalists for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. and the Championship Round at the Gaylord National Convention Center in April 2011.

"CyberPatriot gives young people an inside look at an exciting field that will be an important career path," said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. "Our competition is a great venue to educate high school students on cybersecurity through a competition that's also a lot of fun."

Coaches can learn more about CyberPatriot and sign up at www.uscyberpatriot.org. Information is also available from the CyberPatriot staff at info@uscyberpatriot.org.

CyberPatriot is presented by Northrop Grumman, with founding partners SAIC and the CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

The AFA is a 501(C)(3), nonprofit organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA has over 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 120,000 members.

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National High School Cyber Defense Competition Exceeds 450 Teams

competition/PRNewswire/ -- The Air Force Association announced today that CyberPatriot now has more than 450 teams registered to participate in the premier high school cyber defense competition. Only Iowa, Montana and Wyoming have yet to join the contest.

CyberPatriot is the nation's largest and fastest-growing high school cyber defense competition. With 47 states, Puerto Rico and U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Japan and Korea already represented, word is getting out to high school educators across the country. Teams have registered from public, private, parochial and home schools in many states in the competition's Open Division. Additionally, Junior ROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons are rapidly filling the All-Service Division in the two-track competition.

CyberPatriot provides students interactive learning while competing virtually against their peers. Teams of five, with an approved coach (usually a teacher), learn to defend computer networks from real-life computer threat scenarios. In the preliminaries, hundreds of teams compete online using software provided by CyberPatriot to competitively solve vulnerabilities in a network. The top teams then compete again in a series of online rounds to determine the finalists for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC and the Championship Round at the Gaylord National Convention Center in April 2011.

"CyberPatriot calls attention to one of the nation's most critical needs by exciting, educating and motivating the talent who will become the country's next generation of cyber leaders," said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. "Educators are continually learning about this great opportunity for their students, so we're excited to have this number of registered schools in our unique competition."

Coaches can learn more about CyberPatriot and sign up at www.uscyberpatriot.org. Information is also available from the CyberPatriot staff at info@uscyberpatriot.org.

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Student Engineers - NASA and NIA Want Your Ideas

/PRNewswire/ -- University engineering students could play a part in designing a future space project for NASA as part of a competition sponsored by NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA).

The 2011 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage or RASC-AL contest is aimed at undergraduate and graduate engineering students.

"We've been holding this competition for almost a decade now and we have seen some amazing ideas from the students," said Pat Troutman, senior systems engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. "The students say they get something out of it too. They like that they get a chance to apply classroom knowledge to actual aerospace challenges."

This year students can choose one of four themes for their project: designs for a cost-effective 2030 mission to a near-Earth object; approaches to reduce the risk of orbital debris from space junk; technology-enabled human Mars missions; and novel concepts to engage the general public in human exploration missions. Student teams submit a summary of and an outreach plan for their proposed projects by February 4, 2011.

The RASC-AL steering committee made up of NASA and industry experts will evaluate proposals and select as many as 10 undergraduate and five graduate teams to compete against each other at a forum next June in Florida.

"Each year, the RASC-AL competition engages some of the best engineering talent from across the nation," said Dr. Robert Lindberg, NIA president and executive director. "The student teams are challenged to think beyond the classroom and the textbook, and explore the very limits of human creativity using the engineering skills they've mastered in school."

Teams selected submit a written report, prepare a poster and give an oral presentation at the RASC-AL forum. The June event gives faculty and students the chance to meet with NASA and industry experts, introduce concepts and data from the competition into NASA exploration program planning, develop relationships that could lead to participation in other NASA student research programs and show the benefits of NASA-university-industry cooperation.

For more information about the 2011 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage competition, please go to: http://www.nianet.org/rascal

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University of Georgia qualifies three teams for National Debate Tournament

The University of Georgia Debate Team has qualified three teams to the National Debate Tournament for the first time since 2003. The NDT will be held at the University of Texas at Austin later this month.

The NDT is a qualifying event for the 78 best two-person debate teams in the country. As part of the selection process, only six schools are allowed to bring three teams to the event, based on an evaluation of competitive records over the course of the season.

This year the schools that have qualified three teams are: University of California-Berkeley, Emory, Harvard, Northwestern, Wake Forest and the University of Georgia.

The three UGA teams are comprised of debaters Brittany Cambre and Adam Schmidt, Karen Harrison and Maggy Warden, and Mike Lacy and Tommy Beyer.

The team’s new coach, Casey Harrigan, is in his first year at UGA preparing the teams for both regional and national competitions. This also marks the 20th consecutive year that UGA has qualified at least one team for the National Debate Tournament. Harrigan is a faculty member in the department of speech communication in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

The trip to Austin will be funded through the support of the President’s Venture Fund.

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UGA to Host TEAMS Competition for Area High School Students

Georgia high school students will have an opportunity to participate in a unique learning experience when the University of Georgia hosts a Junior Engineering Technical Society's TEAMS competition on Thursday, Feb. 19.

TEAMS, which stands for 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 member in the faculty of engineering. Mativo will be working with Chi Thai, an associate professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering, which is co-sponsoring the project.

The one-day competition will feature 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 2009 theme is "Behind the Scenes: Theme Parks."

There are two parts: a 90-minute, 80 multiple choice question session and a 90-minute, open-ended, four-question session.

"This competition can inspire your students far beyond the classroom by helping them see the wonders math and science can bring to life such as roller coasters, monitoring equipment in hospitals, at play grounds and more," said Mativo. "When students compete in TEAMS they learn the answer to that age-old question, 'When will I ever use this?' And the answer is as an engineer."

The competition benefits students by showing them why math and science matters in the real world. Its academic rigor challenges students with new academic topics and presents new ideas. In addition, participants get inside information about college scholarships and could win great prizes, said Mativo.

More than 14,000 students across the country compete annually in TEAMS competitions. Questions are aligned with national education standards. UGA is one of three sites hosting the competition in Georgia. Other sites are Atlanta University Center and Savannah State University.

Although space is limited, there is still time to register. The deadline for registration is Jan. 22. Schools already registered to participate include: A. R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School, Cross Creek High School, Grayson High School, Hephzibah High School, Lucy C. Laney High School and The Academy of Richmond County.

To register or see more information, see www.jets.org/teams/index.cfm.

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