TI engineers gather around Annalisa Minke as she calmly, yet passionately, explains how her innovation will cool homes and businesses without contributing to global warming. Her ingenious concept involves engineering air traps to bring cooler air from the top of a structure to the bottom, improving air conditioning systems. Annalisa isn’t a TI customer or a graduate student from a leading engineering university – she’s a seventh grader from a middle school in Tucson, Arizona.
“My house has a swamp cooler, and I hate it because it smells like fish,” 12-year-old Annalisa said with a smile. “I was wondering how people kept cool before they had electricity. I found that in ancient China and Babylon they used cooling towers, and I wanted to know if one could be used in today's houses. I built a model of a house with a cooling tower, and it did keep the house cooler.”
Annalisa was just one of more than 5,000 students from grades K-12 who recently participated in the TI-sponsored Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation competition. It’s one, gigantic science fair with a more than 60-year history of students in the southern half of the state showcasing their best ideas. And for the last seven years, TIers have contributed their expertise and know-how to helping students and teachers succeed in the annual competition.
“Our involvement is so much more than just a week in March every year,” said Jake Klein, an analytical development manager for device analysis services at our TI Tucson site. “We help teachers across Arizona understand what the fair is and how to assemble a project, grasp the scientific method and give engineering, science and math guidance.”
During the week of the fair, TIers act as judges, handing out first, second and third prizes to the best middle and high school projects. Edwin Collier Moody V received TI’s top high school prize for, “mathematically modeling the performance of biofuel in a diesel engine as an alternative to the standard gasoline engine in a widely used Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.” Annalisa’s project won the top TI prize for the middle school division.
“My favorite part of competing was the spoils of victory. I feel the prize at the end of all our work is very beneficial. It helps me feel the importance of working hard for a reward,” Annalisa said.
Jake said this science fair does so many things to encourage and excite more students interested in science, technology, engineering and math. For example, the competition extends beyond the high- and middle-school levels, attracting students as young as six years old.
“We found that students at an earlier age could get turned off by science or don’t get to see the excitement of STEM studies in their everyday curriculum. With this science fair, they see the fun side of STEM, and very well could direct their future as they progress through school.”
Another example: This year, 57 percent of the participants were girls, a group typically underrepresented in STEM fields.
“Many times, girls think STEM is more of a man’s field or not a cool thing to do,” Jake said. “Through this event, there is a lot of focus on encouraging underrepresented minorities and females to participate and learn the value of a possible career as a scientist or engineer.”
And for the middle school winner, Annalisa, she’s thinks the competition and STEM subjects are just as cool as her award-winning project.
“I entered into the science fair due to the fact that the whole competitive process is very good practice for the real world,” she said. “Learning how to work hard is an excellent life skill because to be successful as an employee you need to work hard. Competing will help me in college and when I look for a job.”