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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Fayette County Teachers Participate in Weightless Flight

Tammy Pakulski during weightless flight onboard G-Force One.

Two of Fayette County's teachers became zeronauts for a day and both thought their experience was, pardon the pun, out of this world.

Carol Taylor, a math teacher at Rising Starr Middle, and Tammy Pakulski, a science teacher at JC Booth Middle, took part in the Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flights of Discovery Program on October 7. The teachers were participants in a zero gravity flight that is comparable to what astronauts experience in space.

“The experience was out of this world; it was fabulous,” says Taylor upon her arrival back to earth. “It was a fun and rewarding experience with applications connecting to classroom concepts. My accelerated students studied the vertical motion model while I was gone and I was able to discuss how the flight was a perfect example of what they learned.”

Here’s how the weightless flight works. The airplane, a 727 called G-Force One, climbs at a 50-degree angle, topping off at 31,500 feet and then goes into freefall creating a weightless environment inside the plane for 25-30 seconds. The maneuver is completed a total of 15 times giving participants about 6-7 minutes of weightless flight.

“The flight was much smoother than I had expected. Going weightless was actually a very peaceful experience,” says Pakulski. “The 1.8 Gs we experienced on the climb was not as bad as I thought it would be. You pull more Gs on the Mindbender at Six Flags.”

Both teachers have reached celebrity status at their schools, appearing on the closed circuit TV announcements and getting bombarded by students.

“When I returned to school I was mobbed by students, many I didn’t even know. They all wanted to know about the experience, “ says Pakulski.

Taylor was a special guest during her school’s morning announcements.

“I was dressed in my flight suit with my certificate in hand along with our school agenda and panther mascot that went along for the ride with me. The students have been extremely responsive school wide,” she says.

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Peachtree City Teacher Prepares For Weightless Flight October 7

The community can track Pakulski’s flight at www.flightaware.com. Enter Tail Number for G-Force One: N794AJ.

One teacher is literally going to throw her weight around to get students excited about science.

Tammy Pakulski, seventh grade science teacher at J. C. Booth Middle, has been selected to participate in the Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flights of Discovery Program where she will experience a zero gravity flight. The experience is comparable to what humans would encounter during space travel to the moon or Mars. It also mimics how astronauts train for space flights.

“I’ve always dreamed of being an astronaut and going into space. This flight brings me as close as I can get to that dream,” she says.

Here’s how it works. She will board a 727 aircraft named G-Force One at Hartsfield/Jackson International Airport on October 7. At 24,000 feet altitude, a specially trained pilot will pull the plane up to a 50 degrees ‘nose high’ then push it over the top at 31,500 feet to reach zero-gravity, leaving everyone and everything inside the plane weightless for 25-30 seconds. At a 45 degrees ‘nose low’, a gentle pullout will start allowing the participants to stabilize on the aircraft floor. The maneuver will be completed a total of 15 times giving participants about 6-7 minutes of weightless flight.

Pakulski completed a training workshop in August where she was fitted for her flight suit and given instructions on the commands she will need to know for when the plane comes out of the zero gravity environment.

“You don’t want to be in the middle of a flip when that happens,” she jokes.

She will conduct several of her own experiments during the flight. For one, she will demonstrate the affects of Lunar and Martian gravity on the human body by doing as many pushups as possible.

“It will be videotaped and shared with my students. This will be compared to by ability, or lack of, to do pushups on earth,” she says.

She will also wear a vest that contains probes to measure heart rate and acceleration. Her students will graph and analyze the data the probes collect.

Pakulski will work with a group of other teachers to conduct three formal experiments including testing the affects of zero gravity on the vortex produced inside a tornado tube and Newton’s third law of motion (action-reaction) using various toys such as clackers and slinkies.

The last experiment will demonstrate amazing feats of human strength. The teachers will conduct a teacher toss (tossing one teacher between two others), one-fingered pushups and count the number of somersaults that can be completed in 25 seconds.

Pakulski says she is excited about being able to demonstrate abstract concepts and bring the demonstrations back to her classroom so that students can visualize them, such as the affect of gravity on weight. She also says she hopes her experience will be an inspiration to her students.

“I want to inspire them to follow their dreams, pursue careers in science and technology and that getting an education is important. Education provides you with more opportunities,” she says.

The Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flights of Discovery program is designed to inspire students to pursue science and technical careers by inspiring their teachers first. Practicing classroom middle school teachers and future middle school teachers have the opportunity to participate in the hands-on science workshop.

“I am grateful to Northrop Grumman for providing this program for teachers and inspiring teachers to inspire their students. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can’t wait for until October 7,” says Pakulski.

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