This year’s STEM weeklong initiative graciously “Powered by AT&T”
ROME, NY — The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI), in partnership with the Griffiss Institute (GI), is proud to announce the 8th Annual Challenge Competition as one of their joint STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiatives. New this year, the weeklong program will be “Powered by AT&T.”
The 2016 Challenge Competition will take place beginning Monday, April 25, 2016, at 8:00 am, and will end on Friday, April 29, 2016, at 3:00 pm, at Griffiss Institute, 725 Daedalian Drive, Rome, New York.
The Challenge Competition is an annual competitive STEM initiative for local high school students. It is held during a week when students are on a school break and it’s intent is to provide a more realistic view into the types of high tech problems the nation is facing today, and how engineers and researchers go about dissecting and solving these problems. The best explanation to describe the competition is “mental marathon”.
The students, who participate in the competition, work for an entire week to solve the challenge problem. Many find that it is the first time they had ever had a problem to solve that encompasses what they learn in every academic area in school, from Politics, to English, to Math and Science.
Also for many of the participants, being able to spend a week bouncing ideas off local engineers is an incredible benefit and opportunity.
It gives many of the participants a new perspective on the field of engineering and they get to learn a more about the work that takes place at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, and Griffiss Institute.
The winners of the competition will be awarded paid summer internships, as well as other prizes.
Each high school team will consist of a teacher and two students. Each school selects the teacher and students who will be participating, and only one team per school is granted participation.
The teams will receive the challenge problem upon arrival on the first day, and will have four days to solve it. AFRL/RI engineers and scientists are on hand to answer questions regarding the challenge problem throughout the week.
Daily presentations will introduce the students to the various IT companies that will be offering summer internships. This will enable the students to better decide where they would like to work for the summer, should they win the competition.
Competition judging begins at 8:00 am on Friday, April 29, followed by a luncheon and awards ceremony, where parents and local dignitaries are welcomed to join. The prizes will include at least two summer internships from the Air Force Research Laboratory and at other local technology companies.
“This year’s challenge is being developed by the Information Exploitation & Operations Division. It looks to be a very interesting challenge with real world learning opportunities for the participants,” says Jeff DeMatteis, the AFRL/RI STEM Outreach Coordinator.
With AT&T’s significant support of this year’s competition AFRL/RI and GI will be able to enhance the challenge and provide participating students a more rewarding and educational opportunity. In addition to providing a more immersive and real world experience for the students, AT&T’s support will help the organizers grow the prize levels and educational resources provided during the week.
“AT&T is proud to collaborate with Griffiss Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate to support this innovative event as it further enhances our commitment to providing resources for STEM related educational programing in New York,” said Marissa Shorenstein, New York State president, AT&T. “Our economy continues to transform at a robust pace – requiring a workforce with a focus on technological education and literacy – and STEM programs like this one are vital to ensure that the students of today are prepared for the global economy of tomorrow. I am excited to see the creativity from the young minds that participate in this competition.”
The support for the Challenge Competition grows out of AT&T’s commitment to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs. AT&T Aspire is the company’s signature $350 million philanthropic initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism and mentoring.
The 2015 Challenge Competition problem statement was based on predictive modeling, requiring the student teams to construct a predictive model using a dataset to perform exploratory analysis. The winners of the 2015 Challenge Competition were: Matthew Calogero and Stephen Cosco, from Westmoreland High School, taking 1st place; Mikah Inkawhich and Sara Zarnoch, from New York Mills High School, in 2nd place; and Matthew Milone and Brian Hiller, from Holland Patent High School, taking 3rd place.
The 2016 Challenge Competition is being built upon the success of the previous seven competitions, and AFRL/RI and GI anticipate that it will continue to improve each year and offer area students many more exciting opportunities.
