Cyber-Challenge Winners Announced
Photos by John Kallio
More than 100 high school students took the stage at the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford on Monday, May 17, to present their solutions to real-world problems identified by four major Connecticut corporations. The students addressed a crowd of judges, teachers, and peers with their ideas on everything from managing type II diabetes and power outages to reducing their carbon footprint with the help of fuel cells and solar panels.
The students, mostly freshmen from East Hartford High School, New Britain High School, and Waterbury’s Wilby High, are participants in a five-month program known as Cyber-Challenge.
Pictured is the winning team for Cyber-Challenge 2010, students from East Hartford High School flanked by their teachers. At far right is Mary deManbey, program manager for CBIA's Education Foundation and the team's coach.
The winning team presented on the pros and cons of fuel cells.
Promoting High-Tech Tools and High-Achieving Students
The purpose of Cyber-Challenge is to pique young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and prepare them for rigorous Advanced Placement courses in those subjects as upperclassmen. The program works by providing team-based, project-based learning opportunities; access to video and animation tools and technologies for product development; training in the use of social media and wikis for peer-to-peer information sharing; and support from business and industry representatives and faculty content experts.
The May 17 presentations in the Science Center’s 3D theater marked the culmination of five months of work that 
kicked off with an overnight orientation at the Science Center in January. At the kickoff event, students were introduced to representatives from four CBIA member companies—General Electric, Northeast Utilities, Pfizer, and United Technologies Corporation—each of whom posed a multi-part question that required research, creativity, critical thinking, and mathematical calculations to answer. Questions revolved around the science of diabetes and treatment mechanisms; the cost-effectiveness of solar panels for residential use; the financial impacts of power outages on businesses; and a cost-benefit analysis of fuel-cell energy. Students were expected to work in teams to answer their question, making use of multimedia formats—including video and PowerPoint—to present their findings.
Between delivering their presentations and receiving their awards, Cyber-Challenge students take a break and tour the Connecticut Science Center's interactive exhibits. To see other pictures from their tour, click here.
East Hartford Takes Top Prize
The winning team was a group of East Hartford High School students who reported on the advantages and limitations of fuel cell energy. Their video presentation took the form of a mock newscast featuring interviews with various environmental and energy experts, all played by students. Click here to view their presentation.
Addressing the winners on stage, UTC's Kevin Renfro, a judge in this year's competition, said, “You nailed it! You captured everybody’s attention [and] had everybody hooked.”
Lauren Kaufman, a consultant to CBIA’s Education Foundation and one of the Cyber-Challenge judges, added, “I’m excited with the level of effort you put into this project.”
Each member of the winning team received an MP3 video recorder, and the group was awarded a trophy to display in their school.
More Winning Ideas
Second place in the 2010 Cyber-Challenge also went to a group from East Hartford High. The team answered a
question posed by General Electric regarding the money-saving potential of solar panels. "Solar Ocho," as the team called itself, addressed not only individual cost savings but also the impact that a greater reliance on solar energy could have on the economy, jobs,
and the trade deficit. The students used a cartoon animation program to present their results. Dudley Williams (pictured, far left), a Cyber-Challenge judge from GE, praised the group for delving into the issues around solar energy, describing their calculations to determine efficiency as “very involved” and their clever use of animation as an effective way of “getting people to listen.” Second-prize winners each received a pair of ear buds. Click here to view their presentation.
Two teams—one from New Britain High School and one from Wilby High in Waterbury—tied for third place, with each student receiving a flash drive as a prize.
All three 2010 Cyber-Challenge schools are part of Project Opening Doors, an initiative that raises the enrollment and achievement of underrepresented students in AP classes throughout Connecticut. While Project Opening Doors focuses on juniors and seniors, Cyber-Challenge tailors its program to freshmen and sophomores considered good candidates for future AP coursework. (The Connecticut Business and Industry Association was POD's sponsor in its startup years, providing expertise in grantwriting and fundraising, access to the business community, extensive press coverage, and assistance in pursuing public policy initiatives that make Advanced Placement a legislative priority. Beginning July 1, 2010, Project Opening Doors has been operating under the auspices of EASTCONN, one of Connecticut's six regional education service centers.)
Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant, Cyber-Challenge is administered by CBIA’s Education Foundation in collaboration with the Connecticut Science Center and EASTCONN.
