The Hamburg Area High School Engineering Olympics Team won 1st Place overall in the Wilkes University Engineering Olympics competition earlier this month.
“The students had to apply their skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math to become successful at their event,” said Hamburg teacher Gerald Weiss. “There was no help from the Internet. I am very proud of these students in using their H.O.T.S. (higher order thinking skills) in becoming successful at this engineering competition.”
Hamburg students won the following awards: Gurparit Saggi, 1st circuit building; Katrina Heckman, 1st place logistics; Adam Degler, 3rd circuit logistics; Collin Stout, 3rd circuit logistics; Veronica Crespo, 3rd place 3D building; Holly Phillips, 3rd place in Lego direction; Nora Barter, Water Filtration; Dan Baumert, Catapult; Lyndsey Carr, Water Filtration; and Trever Fegley, Catapult.
Weiss explained that eight high schools participated in the event. Hamburg students competed against students from the Wilkes-Barre, Philadelphia, and Binghamton areas. Each high school brought a team consisting of 10 students in their junior year. Only high school juniors were eligible to compete. All teams were sponsored by one of the companies on the Wilkes’ Industrial Advisory Board.
“The Wilkes University’s IEEE Club for seven years has sponsored the Wilkes University Engineering Olympics. The goal of this competition is to provide an experience for the engineers of the future that will not only stimulate their minds, but their passion for innovation and creativity,” said Weiss.
The competition consisted of a five events with two members from each team participating in each event. The information for each event is presented to each group at the competition. All events were conducted simultaneously, allowing for all 10 students to participate in events at the same time. Prizes and awards were presented at the conclusion of the day.
The winning school receives a scholarship for Wilkes University for their 10 students.
