Deborah Munro, engineering, has been named as a winner of the 2014 Vernier Software and Technology Engineering Contest. She joins co-winners Gary Garber of Boston University Academy and Julianne King of the Regina Caeli Academy in Spring, Texas, each of whom used Vernier sensors to introduce engineering concepts or practices in the classroom. Selected by a panel of Vernier educational experts, each winner received $1,000 in cash, $3,000 in Vernier technology, and $1,500 toward expenses to attend the 2014 National Science Teachers’ Association Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) conference or the 2014 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) conference.
Applications were judged on innovation, engineering objectives, and the ease by which others can replicate the project. Middle school and high school applicants were additionally asked to specifically explain how the project addresses the engineering practices called for in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Munro’s entry, “Developing a Biomechanics Course,” features a six-station lab designed to give students hands-on experience with how different lab equipment can be used for biomedical research. In addition, this course provides exposure to testing with human subjects, as well as an introduction to anatomy, physiology, and the terminology used in the medical industry.
To learn more about the 2014 Engineering Contest winners, and to watch videos of the projects in action, visit http://tinyurl.com/k8e2xac. To learn more about the 2015 Engineering Contest, visit http://tinyurl.com/mpu66fq. For more information on the UP engineering program go to http://engineering.up.edu or call 7292.