WASHINGTON, D.C., FEBRUARY 15 Students from Gardner Edgerton High School in Gardner, Kansas have won the third annual JETS/Ability One National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC), a competition which educates young people about careers in engineering, raises social awareness, and inspires a spirit of engagement and a willingness to help others. Six teams of high school students from across the country competed in the NEDC Finals today at the Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, Virginia. This is the second consecutive year that students from Gardner Edgerton have won the NEDC.

The Gardner-Edgerton team, consisting of students Alyssa Zimmerman, Zheng (Alice) Zhao, Paul Keithley, Jared Barton and Christian Warner, along with their teacher/coach David Kling, created "BART," the Bag Attachment and Replacement Technology, a compound device that allows a user to change and tie a trash bag with only one hand. BART consists of three main components: a cylindrical dispenser for trash bags, a clip that holds the trash bag in place on the trash can, and a tying mechanism.

"Since the return of NEDC in 2005, participation has increased by 400%. This is exciting because it is JETS goal to get young people excited about engineering through our programs and resources and the more students we reach the better. NEDC illustrates how engineering can make a profound impact on a person's quality of life through the application of imagination, practical solutions, community service, and teamwork, and that really resonates with today's youth," said Leann Yoder, JETS Executive Director.

The NEDC is a real-world high school design competition in which teams of students from across the nation design and build an assistive technology device for use by a person with a disability in his or her workplace. Beginning in September 2007, teams first identified a problem to solve and then worked together to design, test and present their device. The top six finalists receive a free trip to Washington, D.C. for the finals competition, and a cash prize for their school. The best overall design from a national finalist team wins $3,000 for their school's sponsoring department. Two additional finalists are awarded $1,500 for the school's sponsoring department.

The other five team projects included the following:

• Edcouch Elsa High School — Edcouch, Texas
  "Arthriscissors" — a modified pair of scissors designed to decrease repetitive hand motions.

• Flowery Branch High School — Flowery Branch, Georgia
  "The High Roller" — a manually operated wheelchair that provides more than ten inches of vertical lift.

• Garfield-Palouse High School &# Palouse, Washington
  "Paraplegic Agricultural Lift (PAL)" — raises an operator from a wheelchair on the ground to the driver's seat of a combine.

• Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science — Denton, Texas
  "Ergonomic Spool Assembly System (eSAS)" — an adjustable table (height and incline) for people in wheelchairs.

• Upper St. Clair High School — Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania
  "The SinkAble" — an adjustable sink that can be retrofitted to nearly any bathroom.

For more information about NEDC, visit www.jets.org/nedc or contact Stephanie Hurd at shurd@jets.org or (571) 212-4973.

NEDC is a JETS program made possible through a partnership with NISH and the AbilityOne program. For more information, email info@jets.org or visit the JETS Web site at www.jets.org.

Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS)
JETS is the leading non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to America's youth. From exciting student competitions to assessment tools and career exploration materials, JETS helps students plan for rewarding futures by showing them how engineering can help them pursue their dreams. JETS programs touch more than 40,000 students and 10,000 educators from 6,000 high schools across the country every year.

AbilityOne Program
The AbilityOne Program provides employment opportunities for nearly 48,000 people through NISH—Creating Employment Opportunities for People with Severe Disabilities, and the National Industries of the Blind. The AbilityOne Program is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities in the United States. More than 600 participating nonprofit organizations employ these individuals and provide quality goods and services to the federal government at a fair market price. To learn more, visit www.abilityone.org.