ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sixteen student teams have been named regional winners in the eleventh annual eCYBERMISSION competition. Sponsored by the U.S. Army, one of several science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives offered by the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, the online collaborative learning competition is designed to cultivate student interest in STEM by encouraging students in grades six through nine to develop solutions to real-world challenges in their local communities. The teams will advance to the National Judging and Educational Event (NJ&EE) taking place in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where they will present their projects to a panel of judges and a national winner from each grade level will be selected.
The 2012-2013 eCYBERMISSION regional team winners are as follows:
6th Grade Winners
Northeast Region: The Falcons, Skyview Middle School, Leominster,
MA
Team Advisor: Mary Jenny
Team Members: Eric
Jenny, John Liddy, Christopher Mabie
Southeast Region: Deep Thinkers, Charlotte Latin School,
Charlotte, NC
Team Advisor: Sharon Oats
Team Members:
Sarah Coston, Chloe Ciucevich, Harrison Mermans
Northwest Region: Globetruckers, Clintonville Middle,
Clintonville, WI
Team Advisor: John Wacker
Team
Members: Bailey Tate, David Wacker, Samuel Wittman
Southwest Region: Arsenic Arresters, Science Rocks U, Whiteface,
TX
Team Advisor: Laura Wilbanks
Team Members:
Hudson Sanders, Gierhard Wiebe, Brett Wilson
7th Grade Winners
Northeast Region: STEM Ninjas, Rocky Run Middle School,
Chantilly, VA
Team Advisor: Ranjit Mereddy
Team
Members: Divya Mereddy, Rachana Subbanna, Sneha Thandra
Southeast Region: Proton, CDR William C. McCool Elementary/Middle
School, Santa Rita, Guam
Team Advisor: Julieta Bautista
Team
Members: Jacob Augelli, Joseph Connelley, James Cook, Tanner
Guisinger
Northwest Region: Chasing Methane, STEMS Club, Iowa City, IA
Team
Advisor: Hector Ibarra
Team Members: Daniel Burgess,
Ethan Trepka, Joseph Titus
Southwest Region: Healing Hands, Science Rocks U, Whiteface, TX
Team
Advisor: Laura Wilbanks
Team Members: Caleb Gomez, Brady
Henry, Sabrina Highfield
8th Grade Winners
Northeast Region: Mosquito Challenger, Christa McAuliffe P.S. 28,
Jersey City, NJ
Team Advisor: Joel Naatus
Team
Members: Sophia Lugo, Victoria Moreno, Christy Rijos, Jennifer
Segovia
Southeast Region: Charger Breath Saver, Providence Day School,
Charlotte, NC
Team Advisor: Barbara Marrow
Team
Members: Abigail Cochell, Katherine Holway, Haley Ritchie
Northwest Region: Collidity Techs, The Pinnacle Charter School,
Federal Heights, CO
Team Advisor: Michele King
Team
Members: Devon Behr, Amanda Mitchell, Anastasia Ledinina
Southwest Region: I.O.N, Nimitz NEISD STEM Academy, San Antonio,
TX
Team Advisor: Sandra Geisbush
Team Members:
Ian Copeland, Ryan White, Cameron Spencer, James Packard
9th Grade Winners
Northeast Region: TXT U L8R, T.J.H.S.S.T, Alexandria, VA
Team
Advisor: Latha Ramraj
Team Members: Valerie Chen, Raghay Ramraj,
Matthew Sun, Jasper Treakle
Southeast Region: RADIANS, Shanghai American School, Shanghai,
China
Team Advisor: Bhagyashri Chander
Team Members: Rishab
Chader, Siddharth Chandra, Michael Shen
Northwest Region: Trouble with Tremors, The Columbus Academy,
Gahanna, OH
Team Advisor: Haruna Cofer
Team Members: Savannah
Cofer, Meredith Schroeder, Varun Vallabhaneni
Southwest Region: The Wyrmies, Taos Middle/High School, Taos, NM
Team
Advisor: Laura Tenorio
Team Members: Arasely Rodriguez, Nora White,
Priscilla Martinez
"Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in this year's competition. We are very excited for the regional winners for their outstanding work to solve problems in real life situations," said Dale Ormond, Director, U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. "We also want to thank the team advisors and volunteers who gave their time and shared their expertise to make eCYBERMISSION a success. We look forward to bringing more awards to every state and continue to serve as an online resource for educators who are looking for new and engaging ways to teach STEM in their classrooms."
“These students are tackling important issues in their community and creating practical solutions that can help affect real change,” said Dr. David Evans, Executive Director of the NSTA. “We are extremely impressed with the quality of work and innovative ideas these regional winners are exhibiting and wish them the best of luck in the next round of judging.”
Through the program, teams of three to four students are asked to identify an issue in their community related to one of seven mission challenges, including:
- alternative sources of energy;
- the environment;
- food;
- health and fitness;
- force and motion;
- national security and safety;
- robotics; and
- technology.
After selecting a mission challenge, teams—under the guidance of a team advisor—apply the scientific method/inquiry or engineering design process to propose a solution. Each team then submits a mission folder, the official write-up of their project, via the eCYBERMISSION website.
The regional winning teams were chosen from a select group of 64 finalists and whittled down by a rigorous judging process. A panel of virtual judges consisting of U.S. Army scientists and engineers from the Research Development and Engineering Command and other Army organizations, STEM, scientists, and engineers selected this year’s regional winners on the basis of several criteria, including a virtual presentation of their project and a question and answer session with judges.
As a regional winner, each team member will receive a $2,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond and an all-expenses paid trip to NJ&EE to compete for the first-place national award. This year’s event, which combines educational and team-building activities, features a STEM Tech Expo, where students will participate in exciting demonstrations and hands-on activities and go on field trips to the National Mall and museums. The event will conclude with a special awards ceremony with U.S. Army leadership, where the national winning team from each grade will be announced.
Since the program’s inception in 2002, eCYBERMISSION has awarded state, regional and national competition winners with over $8 million in U.S. Savings Bonds and more than 100,000 students participated worldwide.
For more information about the eCYBERMISSION competition, visit www.ecybermission.com or contact Mission Control at 1-866-GO-CYBER (462-9297) or via email at missioncontrol@ecybermission.com.
About Army Educational Outreach Program
The Youth Science Cooperative Outreach Agreement (YSCOA) consortium was formed by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) and includes Virginia Tech as the lead organization, the Academy of Applied Science, The George Washington University, the Technology Student Association, the University of New Hampshire and, new member, NSTA. AEOP is charged with addressing national needs for a STEM literate citizenry through a portfolio of educational opportunities which includes unique experiences, competitions, and high school internships that aim to spark an interest in STEM and encourage participants to pursue college and careers in STEM fields. The Army is committed to increasing the STEM talent pool in order to ensure our national security and global competitiveness. For more information on AEOP, visit www.usaeop.com.
About RDECOM
RDECOM is the U.S. Army’s primary source of integrated research, development and engineering capabilities that empower, unburden and protect the American Soldier to enable the dominance of the U.S. Army. RDECOM provides the full spectrum of basic research, development, engineering and analysis of Soldier systems, from concept to capability. RDECOM is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., with laboratories and research and development centers throughout the country and representatives throughout the world. For more information on RDECOM, visit www.army.mil/rdecom.
About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes approximately 55,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.
