ORONO, Maine — Teams from Caribou Middle School earned first and third places at an engineering challenge at the University of Maine.
More than 350 middle and high school students participated in the Kleinschmidt Windstorm Challenge and the 10th Annual Maine Wind Blade Challenge on May 18 at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center.
In the Kleinschmidt Windstorm Challenge Middle School Division, the Caribou Middle School Wave Runners were tops, Brewer Community School’s Dream Team took second and Caribou Middle School’s Northern Breeze placed third.
The Windstorm Challenge requires teams of middle and high school students to collaborate to design and construct a scale-model floating wind turbine platform, test the design under wind and wave conditions, and deliver a sales pitch-style presentation to a panel of judges.
Keith Martin, senior engineer at Kleinschmidt Associates, congratulated all the participants. “These students have developed clever solutions to a complex problem with both technical challenges and economic considerations,” he said.
“We trust they had some fun in the meantime, and hope this challenge engages the minds of the future scientists and engineers.”
Jon Christensen, CEO of Kleinschmidt, which provides engineering, regulatory and environmental consulting services to energy companies and government agencies across North America, said the company proudly supports the challenge that “inspires Maine students to consider careers where they create solutions to our world’s most challenging problems.”
In the high school division, Spruce Mountain High School captured first place, while Bangor High School took second and Machias High School earned third.
In the Wind Blade Challenge, middle- and high-school students worked with composites companies to construct and infuse a functional set of wind blades. Orono High School teams took first and third places while Bangor High School placed second.
“We were pleased to present Maine students with these two truly hands-on STEM experiences that immerse them in energy research,” said Habib Dagher, executive director of the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center. “We’re confident that some of Maine’s best future engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs were here today, and our goal is to inspire them to create opportunities in our state.”
