May 1, 2012 | Eli Freund - School of Engineering

Green Technology Competition at Grasso Tech

On Tuesday, May 22, students at Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School will demonstrate their innovative, sustainable solutions using recycled materials and addressing real-world environmental issues. This inaugural competition is a special initiative of the UConn School of Engineering's GK-12 Program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

By Heidi Douglas

On Tuesday, May 22, students at Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School will demonstrate their innovative, sustainable solutions using recycled materials and addressing real-world environmental issues. In collaboration with Grasso Tech Bioscience and Environmental Technology, this inaugural competition is a special initiative of the UConn School of Engineering’s GK-12 Program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Judges representing Grasso Tech, UConn and the business community will rate the students’ “green technology” devices or designs for relevance, creativity, practicality and feasibility. Prizes will be awarded to the highest scoring student teams, and the top winners will be eligible for further product and process development support and application to UConn innovation and business plan competitions.

Special guests Robert R. “Rob” Simmons, former U.S. Congressman; Andy Maynard, State Senator, 18th District; and Elissa Wright, State Representative, 41st District will be on hand for the 11 a.m. kick-off.  Harriet Jones, WNPR Business Desk Reporter, will cover the event as part of the second in a series of Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network features on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in the state.

Local businesses and individuals are invited to join in sponsoring student prizes.  Please contact Aida Ghiaei for details of sponsorship opportunities: aida@engr.uconn.edu.

Bioscience and Environmental Technology (B.E.T.) is Grasso Tech’s newest technological offering. This technology trains students to enter areas in the fast growing fields of environmental science and biotechnology. Students are prepared to pursue careers in environmental studies, environmental technology, bio-science technology and other related areas, such as waste water treatment, and clinical and pharmaceutical laboratories.

The University of Connecticut’s GK-12 (Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education) program is an innovative educational program sponsored by the National Science Foundation.  It aims to provide teaching resources, in the form of engineering graduate students, to classrooms in the state of Connecticut Technical High School System.  Nine schools from across the state are working with graduate teaching fellows to bring engineering projects focused on energy and sustainability to their students.