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The New Jersey Technology Education Association in cooperation with The Edison Innovation Foundation, PSEG & NJIT is proud to announce the 3rd Annual Thomas Edison Invention Challenge.

The event will take place on April 27th on the campus of NJIT in Newark NJ. Students from middle school and high school grade levels will gather to display prototypes of inventions and innovations involving alternative forms of energy. The day of the event will be a large scale, high profile event designed to showcase student inventiveness. The day will include student presentations, guest speakers, an education fair and other educational activities.

Competitive teams may submit their designs in such typical categories as:

* Energy Systems - for buildings, structures etc.

* Applications - Heating, cooling, electricity, motive power

* Toys / Games - Educational, entertaining, etc.

* Novelties - Personal, gifts, home & garden, etc.

[This is not an exhaustive list of possible categories. Teams are free to propose any idea they wish]

Students in teams of NO MORE THAN FOUR may compete.

The competition is to be entirely student designed and constructed while making use of teachers and mentors for guidance purposes only. Students will begin with a short essay discussing Thomas Edison. Students must submit portfolio documentation outlining plans and intended outcomes prior to the construction of the prototype. This documentation will be provided to students in the form of an "Invention Notebook". This notebook must be used to show documentation of research and solutions that they have considered. Notebooks will be available in electronic format for easy downloading and printing for various schools.

A prototype of their idea must be demonstrated at the Invention Challenge Event. Students can assemble their models out of any material, but the event will encourage the use of recycled materials to minimize costs. In many cases prototypes do not function as intended. This is totally acceptable as the primary goal is student learning.

Students will demonstrate entrepreneurial skills how to bring their idea to market. The students must conduct market research to prove the validity of their idea. A presentation of their work will be a component of their interview.

Schedule of Events

October 1, 2012 - Announcement of Challenge, date and location

October 19, 2012 - Registration closes. Teacher manuals distributed.

November 1, 2012 - Teams must submit names of students, teacher and a team name.

December 1, 2012 - Teams must submit an essay, not to exceed 750 words. The essay topic will be "Thomas Edison's effect on my life today".

March 1, 2013 - Teams must submit electronic images of their design logs. At this point teams receive both an alternative energy kit and a camera to document the build process.

April 27, 2013- Thomas Edison Invention Challenge Event held at NJIT.

Support Materials for Teams

You will be provided with a "start up kit" (over $200 in value) containing materials pertinent to your prototype. Teams will also receive a digital camera to document the building of their prototype.

More information, schedules, documents and rubrics will be distributed to registered teams in mid-October.

Any questions can be directed to Kenneth Zushma, program coordinator, via email at kzushma@njteea.org.

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North Jersey Workshop - Livingston HS: October 25th, 2012

South Jersey Workshop - Lenape HS: October 30th, 2012

How can FIRST® programs enhance technology and engineering learning?

Many know that FIRST® is the ultimate experience in technology and engineering education, but how does it work? Do I need huge amounts of money, time, and energy to be successful?

It's time to demystify the experience and find out how FIRST® programs can enhance a student's STEM experience in and out of the classroom.

Participants of this workshop will learn best-practices from FIRST® teachers and mentors who have experience running teams from the program's middle and high school programs.

FIRST® is an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 that looks to inspire students to further pursue their interests in engineering and technology fields. Over $15 million in scholarship opportunities are offered to its students. It's the "Hardest fun you'll ever have."

REGISTER NOW - NORTH JERSEY

REGISTER NOW - SOUTH JERSEY

Spirit of Innovation Challenge:Student teams combine creative thinking with STEM skills to solve real-world challenges. Registration is open now and the contest's deadline is Oct. 24.

AIAA Foundation Educator Achievement Award: Nominate teachers who excite and engage students through STEM content and experiences. Through this recognition, AIAA celebrates the "best and brightest" educators for inspiring students

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow: Students show how STEM can help improve the environment in their communities. Online application due by Oct. 31.

Article by Dot Harris - Director, Office of Economic Impact and Diversity U.S. Department of Energy

If we want America to succeed in the 21st century, making sure we offer the nation's students a world-class education is more than a moral obligation, it's an economic imperative.

In the long term, our country faces a stark choice: we can invent and manufacture the clean energy technologies of tomorrow in America for export around the world, or cede global leadership by importing those technologies from China, India, Germany and elsewhere. As Americans, we never back down from a challenge -- and the Energy Department's office of Economic Impact and Diversity knows it is mission-critical to get more minorities involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

Ensuring America's competitiveness depends on making sure that Latinos - and Americans of all races - have the education and technical skills they need to advance their careers. This is why the Energy Department is focused on ways we can help encourage more Latinos to get involved in growing STEM fields. As the nation's largest minority group (with more than one in five students enrolled in America's schools), Latinos include more than 11 million students in America's public elementary and secondary schools and more than 22 percent of all pre-K -12 students.

Last year, the Energy Department provided nearly $19 million in support to the nation's Hispanic Serving Institutions in the form of research and development opportunities, scholarships, internships and training. This means more students are getting exposure to STEM fields through hands-on work at our sterling National Labs and in STEM projects at their schools.

Here are a few of the ways the Energy Department is working to increase Latino involvement in STEM fields:

• Science and Technology Workforce Development Program: Developed with the Office of Environmental Management and Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, this program trains and mentors minority student engineers for fellowships at Energy Department sites.
• Minority Educational Institution Student Partnership Program: This paid summer internship program gives participants the opportunity to work with scientists and engineers in energy fields.
• Minority Undergraduate Research Associate (MURA) program: The SunShot initiative sponsors research associates in solar energy R&D projects, where participants help develop affordable, high-performing solar technologies.
• University of Texas- Pan American's Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Program: Along with other Hispanic Serving Institutions (including the University of New Mexico and University of Texas-El Paso), the Energy Department's work with HESTEC provides educational resources to inspire students to pursue STEM careers and offers employment and internship opportunities for students. The University also hosts a regional Science Bowl competition, allowing students to buff up on their STEM knowledge and enter to win a trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

It's going to take all of us -- the federal government, leaders in the public and private sector, teachers and principals, parents involved in their kids' education, and students giving their best -- to make sure Latino students across the country have the opportunity to learn the skills they need to enter these growing industries. The Office of Economic Impact and Diversity is committed to showing students that energy programs offer promising and rewarding career paths -- paths that can help change the future of this country.

For link to article, click here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dot-harris/developing-minorities-in-stem_b_1890701.html)