Francis Tuttle Team Advances to National Challenge

This release has been sent to newspapers statewide.

Feb. 16, 2010

Contact Paula Bowles, chief communications and marketing officer
Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
1500 W. Seventh Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074, 405-743-5108 or pbowl@okcareertech.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Francis Tuttle Team Advances to National Challenge

Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s Junior Engineering Team - JET - recently was named the overall winner at the Governor’s Real World Design Challenge. The team will represent Oklahoma at the National Challenge March 26-29 in Washington, D.C.

Four teams from three technology centers participated Feb. 3 in the state
competition at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center.

Oklahoma teams competing at the state level were comprised of students in Pre-Engineering offerings at Francis Tuttle, Gordon Cooper and Tulsa Technology Centers. This year 25 states are participating. Oklahoma was among 10 states participating last year in the inaugural year of the Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Each year teams address a challenge confronting our nation’s leading industries. Students use professional engineering software to develop their solutions. This year’s challenge focused on aeronautics and energy use. It was - Design and optimize a business jet tail for a flight condition of 400 knots true airspeed and altitude of 37,000 feet (standard atmosphere). The final configuration must balance lift and weight, thrust and drag, and zero pitching moments.

At the state level students learned about the forces of flight, 3-D modeling and testing using a virtual wind tunnel. They also produced a scaled prototype. Teams were provided professional engineering software and tools, including Pro.E (geometric design), FloEFD.Pro (aerodynamic solver), the RWDC Analysis Program (structure and weight analysis) and a NASA tail sizing process. State winners receive an all-expense paid trip to compete in the National Challenge.

Oklahoma’s technology centers, which provide manufacturing, aerospace and Pre-Engineering education, are a natural fit for this type of competitive event, said CareerTech Director Phil Berkenbile.

“Both adult and high school students in Oklahoma’s CareerTech System benefit from the software donations and partnerships developed through the Real World Design Challenge,” said Berkenbile. “This is a tremendous advantage for our students and ultimately Oklahoma’s economy.”

The Challenge is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, in partnership with the State of Oklahoma, Parametric Technology Corp., Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, Tinker Air Force Base and Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.

Lt. Gov. Jari Askins presented awards to the teams. Among JET’s awards were the Design Notebook Quality, Innovation, Teamwork and Collaboration and Effective Networking with Mentors. Another team from Francis Tuttle received the Design Technical Merit Award.

The National Challenge adds several components to the original aviation design challenge. Teams are asked to develop a marketing presentation explaining the decision for the proposed solution. Presentations will be made before an expert panel representing professionals from industry, academia and the federal government Winners will be chosen based on the teams’ design solutions, presentations and project journals.

“The purpose of the RWDC is to excite students about what they learn in school by allowing them to tackle real world problems and see the impact of their solutions,” said Jim Bullington, state coordinator. “The RWDC is helping build an innovative workforce for the future by inspiring and engaging students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education and by highlighting the potential career opportunities in scientific and engineering fields.

For more information about the Challenge or CareerTech Pre-Engineering offerings, please contact Robin Schott, 405-7435432 or Jim Bullington, state coordinator, 405-743-5424. For more information about Oklahoma’s CareerTech system please go to www.okcareertech.org.

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Photo can be found at http://www.okcareertech.org/pio/releases/release2010/images/francistuttle-winner.jpg

Oklahoma Aerospace Summit June 3-4, 2010

Dear Educators,
The Oklahoma Aerospace Summit & Expo supports teachers throughout the state of Oklahoma and the educational advancements in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance, Oklahoma Aerospace Institute and the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics have taken a cooperative leadership role in providing a venue for the aerospace industry and education to come together and help revive an interest in the opportunities that aerospace has to offer. The hope is that by inspiring educators and providing them with tools to use in the classroom, a base of students will grow to fill the job opportunities and much needed skill sets throughout the state of Oklahoma.
During the 2010 Summit, two days are dedicated to workforce and educational development. This year we welcome teachers from 3 to 12 grades to participate in this program by enrolling for June 3-4 of the Summit & Expo to be immersed with the aerospace industry’s finest mentors.
The June 3rd kick-off program allows teachers to join general and breakout sessions in which the industry will participate. That evening, there will be a special educator’s reception and tour of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base. June 4th, called Education and Training Day, hosted on the campus of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, will be focused on enhancing the delivery of STEM education in your classroom and to inform you about exciting opportunities for your students to excel. Both general and breakout sessions will offer information, curriculum and/or tactics for you to take back to the classroom and employ. You will be paired with a mentor from the aerospace industry that can provide insight and guidance at the conference as well as a contact to help you throughout the next school year.
Teachers are provided with FREE summit and education training day registration, complimentary hotel stay for the evening of June 3, and will be given a stipend at the conference to help cover the cost of travel or for whatever you want to use it for (a total value of $600). Go to okaero.com website. Click on Education and Training Day at the top. To register, please click on New Registration to the right.
We look forward to seeing you, helping you and growing our state’s educational goals in aerospace!
Ben T. Robinson–Education & Training Day Chair
Brigadier General, USAF, Retired
VP for Institutional Advancement
OK School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM)

SAVE THE DATE

Summer Conference August 1, 2 and 3 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sunday, August 1: Exhibitor move in and CTAC evening meeting
Monday, August 2: Registration/Exhibits open, 10:00 Opening General Session, 3:45 pm NRS meeting, 5:30 pm OAMCTE Reception
Tuesday, August 3: Divisional Meetings, 4:00-7:00 p.m. OKACTE Leadership Seminar

Testing Dates

Unmanned Systems Alliance

Oklahoma's Pre-Engineering Aerospace students are being invited
to participate in the Unmanned Systems Alliance of Oklahoma's one day summit on March 23. Great Plain’s is hosting the event.

The cost for the summit will be @$35 per individual, however,
since the group organizers understand the importance of connecting with students, the cost of the summit will be waived for Pre-Engineering students.

In order to properly plan, please let me know if your school is
interested in participating and if so, how many students you would
anticipate bringing. Please contact Karen Bailey at 580-250-5526 or kbailey@gptech.org

Free videos explore the science behind the Olympics

Feb 10th, 2010 Print this article ( http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/02/10/free-videos-explore-the-science-behind-the-olympics-2/# )


Teachers looking for ways to incorporate the Olympic Winter Games into their instruction have a new resource they can use: NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, has teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to produce a 16-part video series focusing on the science behind the games. How does angular momentum help figure skater Rachael Flatt achieve the perfect triple toe loop? How does elastic collision allow three-time Olympic hockey player Julie Chu to convert a game-winning slapshot? How do Newton’s Three Laws of Motion propel short track speed skater J.R. Celski to the finish line? These are just a few of the scientific principles explored in the new video series, called “The Science of the Olympic Winter Games.” (NBC is broadcasting the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver Feb. 12-28.) The videos capitalize on students’ interest in the Vancouver Olympics to make science more accessible to them by illustrating how scientific principles apply to competitive sports. Narrated by NBC News anchor Lester Holt, the series is available to educators free of charge on the NBC Learn web site as a timely way to incorporate the Olympics into their classroom teaching. In each video segment, an NSF-supported scientist explains a particular scientific principle, while Olympic athletes describe how these principles apply to their respective sports. The science is explained by capturing the athletes’ movements with a state-of-the-art, high-speed camera called the Phantom Cam, which has the ability to capture movement at rates of up to 1,500 frames per second. This allows frame-by-frame illustrations of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum, friction, drag, speed, velocity, and other scientific concepts. http://www.nbclearn.com/olympics

Paleo Expedition 2010

Spend Your Summer Working with Real Scientists in the Field! Once in a lifetime expedition, at no cost. Paleo Expedition is a unique field experience for Oklahoma high school students currently enrolled in grades 9-11. This two-week adventure will feature the discovery and identification of fossils with the University of Oklahoma and the excavation of 12-million year old mammals at the Ashfall State Historical Park with the University of Nebraska. This is a fully funded science program. There is no cost to participants. All program supplies, food, and lodging will be provided and students will be fully supervised by ExplorOlogy educators. For more information and to apply, visit: http://explorology.snomnh.ou.edu/paleo-expedition Application Deadline: March 26, 2010. Questions? Contact Us at explorology@snomnh.ou.edu