JETS Update

National Engineering Design Challenge

Round II Entries Are In!

Round II of the JWOD/JETS National Engineering Design Challenge entries have been submitted and are currently being reviewed by a panel of judges from across the country. "The effort of the students was most impressive," said S.J. Amos Dean, School of Technology, Michigan Technological University and a judge for this year's NEDC.

Teams selected to participate in Round II completed steps one through seven of the Engineering Design Process (EDP). These talented students not only identified and researched their problem and developed and selected a possible solution, but also constructed a working prototype to help an individual with a disability enter or advance in the workforce. The challenge did not end there. The students then went on to test and evaluate their solution and documented their findings in a final report!

Three to five fortunate teams will advance to the National Finals held in Washington DC. This all expense paid trip will begin on February 16th and conclude on February 18th at EWeek's Family Day.

JETS would like to wish all of the teams good luck in the next phase, and thank everyone who participated in this year's JWOD/JETS NEDC.

This year, over 14,000 high school students are gearing-up and preparing to participate in the TEAMS competition. High school students will work in teams of four to eight to solve problems about ice cream production, energy efficiency and supply, water systems, and space exploration. To help your team prepare for this challenging competition you may purchase a previous years' competition packet, please visit: www.jets.org/programs/teams-resources.htm for ordering information.

Deciding on a College Career?

High school students sometimes decide on their college career paths without really knowing what those courses of study will involve. In order to help students determine how well-prepared they are to enter an engineering or technology program in college and to answer questions students have about engineering and technology study, JETS has developed the National Engineering Aptitude Search+ (NEAS+) academic survey. The NEAS+ enables students to make informed decisions about their futures.

JETS will be partnering with Eweek, Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and other organizations to heighten awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) issues among pre-college, college, and young career women, and to address issues of concern such as retaining women in college engineering programs and the workplace.

Stay tuned for more information about this exciting event that will start at noon, U.S. Eastern Standard Time on March 23, 2005, and conclude at noon on March 24, 2005.