Photo By Lt. Col. Deanna Bague | Sarah Mahmoud, a junior at Franklin High school, explains her science project March...... read more read more
FORT BLISS, Texas – Soldiers with the Brigade Modernization Command and 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, who helped judge the 5-STAR Innovation Cup STEM Showcase and Competition, in which middle and high school students displayed their concepts and products in science, technology, engineering and math, said they were highly impressed with what they saw.
“Some of the kids operate at a really high level,” said Capt. Vuong Do, an intelligence integrator for BMC’s Brigade Modernization and Integration Division. “The concepts that these [students] were able to come up with, how they put it together, how they displayed it and how they presented it was really amazing. I can’t imagine being back in school and myself even, doing the same thing that these guys are doing.”
Do said he judged a diverse number of projects that were relevant to science and technology including testing the effects of enzyme concentration and starch digestion presented by Sarah Mahmoud, a junior at Franklin High school.
Eastlake High School junior, Aaron Ruth, displayed his autonomous vehicle research platform. Aaron said his design entails a vehicle aimed to drive itself to avoid last minute collision, reduce travel time and human error.
Master Sgt. Victor Medina, also from BMID, said the powered water car caught his attention. Javier Lopez, who is a sophomore at Harmony School of Innovation, used water as a substitute for fuel, powered-up a go-kart and test drove it at the Old Trading Post building on base where the competition took place.
“I had to do a lot of research about the internal combustion engine, how it works, what it needs to be able to adopt to hydrogen, what was good about it and what was not,” said Javier. “[Soldiers] have given me many good comments and feedback, especially about the continuity of the project.”
Javier said his ultimate goal is to create a car that can run on water and not cause pollution.
The competition produced a top winner, Juliette Ward, a senior at Chapin High School, whose design ensued from a concern for her grandmother’s health.
“What I brought [to the competition] was an innovation to an orthopedic walking boot,” said Juliette.
Juliette said her grandmother who was using an orthopedic walking boot as a result of a fall, complained about discomfort and back pain when using it. This inspired her to research a way to modify the existing design and develop something that would alleviate her grandmother’s distress.
“She really couldn’t do much with the boot,” said Juliette. “She couldn’t really walk, because it was uncomfortable. She was complaining of hip pain because of the elevation of the boot, so what I wanted to do is innovate the boot to make it sustainable for elderly diabetics and people in that category.”
The event was organized by the El Paso STEM Foundation in an ongoing effort to improve STEM education among school-age students. The foundation’s president, Shane Haggerty, thanked supporters that included The University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Engineering, the El Paso STEM Foundation and Fort Bliss.
“The El Paso STEM Foundation is excited to be connecting [U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s] Brigade Modernization Command, UTEP College of Engineering and our talented students in STEM fields,” said Haggerty. “This event not only unites Fort Bliss, El Paso and our surrounding region, but also provides the opportunity to create future STEM leaders, which is a huge step toward making our region the STEM hub of the nation.”
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2014 15:06 |
| Story ID: | 124726 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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