Photo courtesy of Trussville City Schools.
The Hewitt Trussville High School Engineering Academy’s students attended the state engineering fair.
On April 6, the Engineering Academy sent five teams (12 total students) to compete at the State Science and Engineering Fair at UAH.
Students who participated have already placed in the regional fair at UAB. This is the largest number of teams HTHS has had compete at the state level. Students have been working hard on their projects all year, following the engineering design process to develop a working prototype to solve their chosen problem.
Energy Category: Hayden Parks, Drew Kinzer and Nathan Feagans created an emergency solar panel umbrella system. Their design is a folding solar umbrella that can be deployed after emergency situations such as hurricanes and tornadoes. This umbrella can generate 100 watts of power, which would be able to charge up to 109 cellphones after one day of sun.
Awards:
1st Place – Energy Category
Association of Energy Engineers Special Awards in the field of Physical Energy
2018 Alabama Science and Engineering Fair Positive Community Impact Trophy
United States Air Force Certificate of Achievement
Total Winnings: $250
Biomedical Engineering Category: Long Nguyen, Ethan Swatek and Cannon Riccio created 3-D printed leg braces. Their design provides custom fitted braces that can be 3-D printed. This will provide a custom fit and cheaper alternative.
Awards:
3rd Place – Biomedical Engineering Category
United States Air Force Certificate of Achievement
Embedded Systems/Systems Software category: Vraj Patel and Emily Coggins created a prototype that uses microwave sensors for blind spot detection onto existing cars. Their design has a dashboard with LED indicators and an LCD readout screen alerting drivers of cars in the blind spot area.
Awards:
4th Place – Embedded Systems/Systems Software category
United States Army Certificate of Achievement for an Outstanding Science Fair Project
Boeing Certificate of Recognition and Achievement in the area of Embedded Systems
2018 Alabama Science and Engineering Fair Positive Community Impact Trophy
2018 Toyota Science and Engineering Fair Excellence in Science Research Award
Senior Best of Show Award from Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association
Total Winnings $125
Engineering Category: Jacob Hayes and Joseph Seagle’s automatic drink lid dispenser. Their design allows drink lids to be dropped into the customer’s hand by simply waving a hand under the dispenser.
Awards:
4th Place – Engineering Academy
Association of Energy Engineers Special Award in the field of Engineering Mechanics
Total Winnings $100
Engineering Category: Ian Knapp, Michael Rodriguez and David Murrell with their design that can retrofit an existing longboard with brakes. Their design incorporates a handheld grip that allows the rider to stop their longboard using an under mounted braking system.
Awards:
4th Place – Engineering Category
Boeing Certificate of Recognition and Achievement in the area of Embedded Systems