J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202 358-5241
Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-9886
RELEASE: 07-110
HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS CHOSEN IN NASA AERONAUTICS ESSAY CONTEST
HAMPTON, Va. - NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has
identified the winners of its high school contest to describe "Air
Transportation in 2057." Sarah Vaden from Roanoke Valley Governor's
School in Roanoke, Va., and Emma Peterson from Burnsview Secondary
School in Delta, British Columbia, won top prizes for their essays on
the theme.
Teens from across the United States and six foreign countries
submitted 88 essays in four categories: U.S. individual, U.S. team,
international individual and international team. In all, 14 teams and
75 individual students submitted essays to NASA's Fundamental
Aeronautics Program, which sponsored the contest. The top U.S. team
was Tyler Pennington, Morgan Harless, and Jared Hagan from Linwood
Holton Governor's School in Abingdon, Va. The top international team
was Nombuso Ndlovu, Shoki Kobe, and Lerato Mthembu from the Lotus
Hardens High School in Pretoria, South Africa.
"I wish I had been that articulate in high school," said Juan Alonso,
director of NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program, NASA
Headquarters, Washington. "What's particularly gratifying is that
many of the students said they were interested in working for NASA in
the future. And now we've learned that South Africa has just
designated the aeronautics contest the official international section
of their aviation science program, which will allow even more schools
to participate."
NASA will award the top scoring essays from the United States with a
trophy and a cash prize of $1,000 (to be shared, in the case of the
team). Non-U.S. students will receive a trophy but are not eligible
for cash prizes. All participants will receive a NASA certificate and
a personal letter of commendation from a NASA official.
The essays were reviewed by 24 NASA managers and engineers from four
NASA centers: Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., Dryden
Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., Glenn Research Center,
Cleveland, and Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. They based their
scores on how well students focused their essays and how well they
addressed four basic criteria: informed content, creativity and
imagination, organization and writing.
Following top individual student Vaden were two teens who tied for
second place: Michael Donelson, a junior from Flagstaff High School,
Flagstaff, Ariz., and Meghan Ferrall, a junior from Freedom High
School in Tampa, Fla. Jacob Monat, a senior from Kee High School in
Lansing, Iowa, was awarded the third place individual award.
Honorable mention awards went to Tamara Cottam, a junior from
Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, Ky.; Sam Rochelle, a
freshman from Cary Academy, in Cary, N.C.; and Daniel Ho, a junior
from the High School of Economics and Finance in New York.
The second and third place individual international awards went to
senior level students from India. Second place went to Yashraj
Khaitan from the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai, and
third place was awarded to Ketan Sharma from the Amity International
School in Haryana.
The second place U.S. team winners were two students from Midwood High
School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Third place went to a four-member team from
Lourdes High School, in Rochester, Minn. Honorable mention went to
another team also from Midwood High School. In the international team
contest, second place was awarded to four seniors from Pakistan, and
third place went to two 10th graders from Romania.
Most of the students who participated were high school juniors, but
entries also came in from freshmen, sophomores and seniors. Some of
the American high school students say they plan to study
aerospace-related subjects in college. One senior student wrote that
he planned to pursue aerospace at the Air Force Academy. Another
senior, a National Merit Scholar, expects to major in aerospace
engineering this fall at Iowa State University.
For a complete list of all the winners, visit:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/edu_fa_essay_contest_07.htm
For more information on NASA's aeronautics program, visit:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov
-end-
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