TEAMS Asks Students to Tackle the Global Crisis of Providing Access to Clean Water
WASHINGTON, DC, August 28, 2009 – With the theme, “Water, Water, Everywhere” the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) launches its annual TEAMS competition for high school students throughout the country.
The theme-based engineering competition provides students in grades nine through 12 with the opportunity to make real-world connections between math and science to actual engineering challenges. With the release of the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) Grand Challenges for Engineering, the emphasis on providing access to clean water became the main focus for the competition.
In 2007 the NAE assembled some of this generation’s most accomplished technological thinkers and asked them to identify the top engineering challenges for improving the way we live. After a year-long study that included public input from around the world, the panel announced 14 challenges on the project website. They fell into in four broad themes that are essential for humanity to flourish: sustainability, health, reducing vulnerability, and joy of living.
“Focusing the competition on tangible real-world based engineering challenges is unique to TEAMS. Students are interested in learning how they can impact the world, and TEAMS provides them a foundation to discover how they can become part of the solution to this global crisis,” said Peter Carrato, Bechtel Corporation Fellow and President of the Board of Directors of JETS.
Registration for TEAMS opens in September and competitions will take place nationally at various university campuses over a four-week period from February 15 through March 16, 2010. Students will tackle water issues ranging from digging wells and crop irrigation to policy issues and keeping water super clean.
For a third year, Shell will jump start student excitement for the competition by sponsoring a design challenge focused on the water theme and providing each participating student with a t-shirt showcasing the winning design. The two top ranking teams per level in the country will claim the title “Best Overall” and each receive $2,500 for their schools. In addition, the “Best Overall” 11th/12th grade team will be awarded a three-night stay at Walt Disney World Resort on or before December 18, 2010, including DisneyTheme Park Tickets, and the opportunity to take part in one Disney Youth Education Series (Y.E.S.) program available during their stay.
Like the other signature JETS programs, the purpose of TEAMS is to encourage more American students to pursue engineering by showing them how engineering impacts everyday life and how engineers help solve social and community problems. 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.
About the National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is an independent, nonprofit institution. Its members consist of the nation's premier engineers, who are elected by their peers for seminal contributions to engineering. The academy provides leadership and guidance to government on the application of engineering resources to social, economic, and security problems. Established in 1964, NAE operates under the congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1863.
About JETS
JETS is the leading non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to America’s youth. From coordinating exciting student competitions to providing top academic resources and career exploration materials, JETS is helping students make informed decisions about their futures and developing a new generation of engineers.
Each year, JETS programs touch more than 40,000 students and 10,000 educators from 6,000 high schools across the country. 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.