Contact: Chris McManes Michigan School Wins IEEE-USA Best Communications System Award, Places Second Overall at National Engineers Week Future City Competition WASHINGTON (20 February 2002) - St. John Lutheran School of Rochester, Mich., won the second IEEE-USA Best Communications System Award and placed second overall at the national finals of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition on Wednesday. The honor, one of 19 special awards presented at the Hyatt Regency Hotel-Capitol Hill, was for the most "efficient and accurate communications system." Stephanie Rink, Nada Zohdy and Sue Yang, all 13 years old, made up the team with St. John's teacher Jonathan Pfund and General Motors engineer Jane Sternemann. IEEE-USA President LeEarl Bryant presented each team member with a plaque and $100 U.S. Savings Bond. The school's technology fund receives $2,000 for its national finish. St. John's city, Robust in Sitnalta, is set in the year 2150. The city's communications system has three major elements for each citizen: a contact lens that projects images onto an air-based personal computer screen; a back-tooth mini microphone that converts mouth movements into sound; and a glove for deaf people so that sign language can be converted to sound. Each person has the ability to send and receive voice, data and video. "They had a well thought-out system," said Lowell Smith, who served as a judge with fellow U.S. IEEE member Janet Hill. "They used technology that we've yet to fully explore. I especially liked their smart-language converter and ability to communicate with the deaf." St. John, which won the Michigan regional competition last month, advanced to the national finals for the second consecutive year with the same three students. It also received two other special awards Wednesday. The Future City Competition, which IEEE-USA introduced in 1993, is designed to encourage the future generation of engineers. Seventh and eighth grade students create their own vision of a city of tomorrow, working first on computer and then constructing three-dimensional scale models. About 30,000 students competed this past year. Visit www.futurecity.org. IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers created in 1973 to promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 230,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, visit us online at http://www.ieeeusa.org. 1828 L Street, N.W., Suite 1202 Washington, DC 20036-5104 Phone: 202-785-0017, Fax: 202-785-0835.
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February 2002 |