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14 MTR May 2008 news Schools SEAPerch ROV Competition Day — an event that attracted 150 students forming 42 teams from nine schools, held April 26, 2008 at the George Mason University, Fairfax (Va.) campus. This was reportedly the first-ever subsea robotic com- petition in the state of Virginia. "SEAPerch offers schools a low-cost, hands-on project that takes maritime engi- neering out of the textbook and into the water, which is exactly the kind of approach we need to let students find inspiration in places where they previously saw only diffi- culties," said Duane S. Mason, Systems Engineer, SAIC - Defense and Maritime Solutions. "The culmination of the project was the Sea Perch Challenge," said Giver. "When you have hundreds of 9th graders from all across a large county gather to showcase and compete with their vehicles they themselves built together, and present their designs to a committee of engineers and scientists, you empower the student in so many ways." ‘It takes a village’ As impressive as the student turnout was, so too was the participation of more than 100 volunteers from the schools, the local community, government and corporations serving this industry — led by such ubiqui- tous names as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Fulcrum Corporation to name but a few, as well as the Office of Naval Research — who came out to ensure that the day's events ran smoothly. "One of the most exciting surprises was the number of industry leaders, as well as high- ranking military officials, who showed up on that Saturday to participate as judges and volunteers," said Giver. "The positive result was that the students were able to interact Pictured below: Battlefield 3 won the 'innovative design' award and showed incredible enthusi- asm and aptitude for their project dur- ing the interview phase. MTR#4 (1-16).qxd 5/14/2008 9:25 AM Page 16
