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| Teams L-R The Lit Scientists (Sydni Moore, Josie Gardiner, and Mariah Smith) Fig Neutrons (Eric Brown, Sally “Ryen” Labrador, and Trevonte Frazer,) The Olympians (Ridha Fatima, Srestha Samaddar, and Taahera Islam) |
The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program Encourages Students Nationwide to Develop Solutions to Real-World Problems in Their Communities
Columbia, SC – Monday, April 30, 2018 – The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) today announced 9th grade teams, “The Lit Scientists” and “Fig Neutrons” from Columbia, SC as the 1st and 2nd place state winners, respectively, in the 16th annual eCYBERMISSION competition – one of several science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives sponsored by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP). eCYBERMISSION, administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), is a web-based competition for students in grades six through nine. Students are challenged to work in teams of 3-4 to identify a problem in their community and use scientific practices or the engineering design process to develop a solution. Student prizes for each grade level are awarded at the state, regional, and national levels.
The Lit Scientists (Josie Gardiner, Sydni Moore, and Mariah Smith) and Fig Neutrons (Eric Brown, Trevonte Frazer, and Sally “Ryen” Labrador) worked together with Dr. Michelle Wyatt, Team Advisor, to test novel fire-resistant coatings for houses and create different designs for wind turbines, respectively. The Olympians (Ridha Fatima, Taahera Islam, and Srestha Samaddar) received an Honorable Mention for their work on testing porous concrete made from different components. The teams submitted their Mission Folder—the official write-up of the project— through the eCYBERMISSION website to be evaluated and scored by volunteer virtual judges. First-place state winning teams received $1,000 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds and second-place state winning teams received $500 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds. In the next round of the competition, a panel of virtual judges will evaluate the top three scoring teams from each region in each grade level. Sixty regional finalist teams will compete to advance as 1 of 20 national finalists at the National Judging & Educational Event, taking place on June 17–22, in Washington, D.C. The Lit Scientists is one of these 60 Regional Finalist teams and earned an additional $1,000 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.
The Lit Scientists (Josie Gardiner, Sydni Moore, and Mariah Smith) and Fig Neutrons (Eric Brown, Trevonte Frazer, and Sally “Ryen” Labrador) worked together with Dr. Michelle Wyatt, Team Advisor, to test novel fire-resistant coatings for houses and create different designs for wind turbines, respectively. The Olympians (Ridha Fatima, Taahera Islam, and Srestha Samaddar) received an Honorable Mention for their work on testing porous concrete made from different components. The teams submitted their Mission Folder—the official write-up of the project— through the eCYBERMISSION website to be evaluated and scored by volunteer virtual judges. First-place state winning teams received $1,000 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds and second-place state winning teams received $500 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds. In the next round of the competition, a panel of virtual judges will evaluate the top three scoring teams from each region in each grade level. Sixty regional finalist teams will compete to advance as 1 of 20 national finalists at the National Judging & Educational Event, taking place on June 17–22, in Washington, D.C. The Lit Scientists is one of these 60 Regional Finalist teams and earned an additional $1,000 per student team member in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.