FLOWERY BRANCH - A team of three Flowery Branch High School students - Matt Blaisdell, James DeGrood, and Joshua Gober - and their coach - Dr. Ben Wagner of the school's math department - have been notified by the 2007-08 JETS National Engineering Challenge that they are one of six national finalists. <br />
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JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) implemented the national design competition to foster interest in engineering among high school students. <br />
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Over 260 teams began the competition. Of these, 100 advanced to Round Two. From this group, only six have been selected for Round Three, which includes the three students and coach from Flowery Branch. <br />
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The FBHS team members and coach will now participate in the finals to be held in Washington, D.C. on February 14-16. Transportation cost, registration fees, and hotel accommodations will be covered by the National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC). During this final round, the team will be presenting a 15- minute oral report to a panel of judges, which will be a major component of the evaluation to determine the national winner.<br />
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Teams choosing to enter this year's contest were presenting with a problem: "People who are wheelchair-bound have a limited vertical range that prevents them from performing everyday functions, such as reaching items in cabinets in their homes or on a grocery store shelf that may be above their chair level." <br />
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The challenge was to design an assistive technology (AT) device that people with disabilities can actually use to succeed in the workplace and in their lives. The Flowery Branch team arrived at a solution that was "simple, safe, and cost effective," (itemized costs: $270.00, including donated wheelchair). <br />
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The designed and constructed device, named the "High Roller" by the team, consists of fixed arm bars, and eleven-inch air-shock cylinder, and fixed wheelie bars built from a standard wheel chair that had been donated by Citizen's Pharmacy in Flowery Branch.
