February 6, 2003
FUTURE CITY COMPETITION:
VERY HARD, BUT THAT'S THE FUN PART
National Educational Program Making a Difference
for the Workforce of Tomorrow
Snow drifted so high on January 16 in Shelbyville, Kentucky that schools closed for the day. For some, a cause for rejoicing, but for three students who had arrived at Shelby County East Middle School early to travel 250 miles for the regional finals of the National Engineers Week Future City CompetitionTM, it was just another challenge to overcome.
The competition asks 7th- and 8th-graders to build a Future City, but for the organizers the real goal is to give young people a taste of engineering, laying the foundation for developing engineering skills such as vision and imagination, teamwork, problem-solving, aptitude for math and science and, importantly, tenacity. Shelby proved to be a home run.
"When I told them the bus wasn't coming, they said, 'What do you mean it's not?'" recalls Mary Beth Dunn, the teacher who guided the student team through building and perfecting their Future City model and presentation. "We had worked so hard on it," explains Kenny Franks, 13. "We went to the bus garage, they said they couldn't take us, and we decided that would not get in our way." The students, teacher, volunteer engineer mentor who advised them, and a parent with a vehicle to carry the model, set off on the icy five-hour journey. And, as many an engineer has discovered, tenacity pays off: Shelby took first place and won an all-expense-paid trip to Washington for the national finals of the 11th annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition.
Thirty winning teams from regions across the country will gather February 17-19 to see which Future City will be chosen as best in the nation in a competition that has become one of the most successful engineering outreach programs ever created. Hosted by Bentley Systems, Incorporated, a leading engineering software company, national finals are set for 8:30 AM to noon on Wednesday, February 19 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill. First prize is a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. National Engineers Week, February 16-22, 2003, is co-chaired by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Lockheed Martin.
This year more than 30,000 students from more than 1,000 middle schools participated, and those most familiar with the program are convinced of its benefits.
"Future City will help me in the long run, especially when I'm looking for a job," says Matt Clifford of Atascocita Middle School in Humble, Texas, winner of the Houston regionals. "Right now, it's a good likelihood that I will become an engineer some day."
When that day arrives, Matt may want to call on Tony Arikol, president of a professional engineering firm, volunteer mentor for the winning Louisiana team, and a big fan of Future City participants. "I mainly like their work ethic, their desire, their stick-to-it-ness. That's 90 percent of what engineering is," he says. "The kids I've worked with I'd definitely hire right out of school. I'd hire them in a heartbeat."
The not-for-profit program starts with students building a city on computer using SimCity3000 software, donated to participating schools by Maxis Corporation of Walnut Creek, Calif. They construct a 3-D model of that city, to scale, using mostly recycled materials, write a city abstract, and an essay on how their city solved a problem using engineering (this year's theme is how biotechnology can fight pollution). Teams then present and defend their cities before engineer judges at the competition.
The possibilities Future City introduced were not missed on Matt's teammate, Mark Thompson, 13. "It's hard work, but enjoyable when you get to use your creative mind. Future City taught me about the engineering process. Trial and error is how you get solutions," he says, "but the main thing it taught me is that you can't win without teamwork." Teammate Christina Tamayo was astonished to discover the diversity of engineering. "We learned about civil engineering, bioengineering, mechanical engineering. Engineering is everywhere," she says, "from how your door works to bioengineered water hyacinths." Atascocita's city uses hyacinths to purify the city's water system. Bioengineered with a photo-bacterium, the plants glow when pollution levels rise.
"Our presentation is the best part, it has a lot of life to it, it flows," boasts Doug Robertson of St. Dominic's School in Benicia, representing Northern California, though he admits he wasn't always so confident. "I used to get kind of nervous," he says, "but after a few times you don't."
His teacher, Delorse Bond, says Future City shows that young people can handle a difficult task if they're inspired. "This is an awesome program," she says. "I have parents who come to me in the beginning and say 'It's too hard.' By the end they're amazed."
"I loved learning about engineering," says Mike Matthews of Pine Middle School in Reno, from the Northern Nevada regionals. "It was cool to take ownership of that knowledge." His teammates say the engineering lessons were much more than science and math. "Whenever we had time to work, we had to learn to manage it wisely," says Bear Allman, 13. Bear adds, "I learned a lot about engineering and because of this I'm thinking about becoming an engineer."
That embrace of the potential of engineering was repeated at schools across the country. "I didn't know a whole lot about engineering when I started," admits Shelly Forster of Alogonquin Middle School in Averill Park, New York, representing the Albany region. "Now I realize there are lots of possibilities. There's something for everyone and you can go anywhere with it."
"As more students experience engineering through Future City, we're opening their minds to what engineers do," says Carol Rieg, Future City Competition national director. "After more than a decade of this program, we're seeing Future City alumni choosing engineering as a career, clear proof of the program's growing importance."
The national competition promises a brilliant array of outstanding concepts. Take "Octavia," the city designed by Drexel Hill Middle School, representing Philadelphia at nationals. Team member Philip Crone notes that the city's name is the same as the legendary metropolis suspended over a canyon on ropes and chains described in the journals of Marco Polo. So his team created a city suspended on a synthetic spider web.
"We genetically engineered the main components of spider webs, alanine and glycine, into the DNA of alfalfa," he explains. "Then we extract the chemicals, mix with water, compress them into tubes under high ambient temperatures for solidification and squeeze them through a spinneret to make them into strands. We combine that with titanium nanotubes. The spider silk provides the tensile strength and the titanium provides pressure strength." Philip is 14.
Along with imaginative and futuristic ideas for improving cities, students spoke of improvements in society as well. "Cities will move toward less pollution and traffic problems," predicts Kelly Phillips, a 12-year-old from the Pittsburgh regional winner, Harrison Middle School. "But even the people might change. We can have less warfare. We can solve things. People will be nicer to each other."
Besides the future, students in Future City say they also learn about themselves and their own potential. Joe Maki, an eighth-grader representing Massachusetts, from Birchland Park Middle School in East Longmeadow, says that after his team completed their model they agreed it wasn't good enough. So, they took it apart and rebuilt it. "It's a standard you set for yourself," he says.
"When I couldn't get something right I'd have to think and think hard," says Stephen Demouy of St.Thomas More in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana entry. A teammate, Colette Burke, adds, "I would definitely think about being an engineer because it's so interesting. It a challenge and I'm up for a challenge."
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• The winning team (three students, teacher, and engineer mentor) from each qualifying regional Future City Competition receives an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals. First place national team wins a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, provided by national finals host Bentley Systems, Incorporated, a leading engineering software company. Second-place team receives a $2,000 scholarship for the school's technology program, sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. A $1,000 scholarship for the third-place team's school technology curriculum is provided by The National Society of Professional Engineers.
• First place teams from 30 regions are competing in the national finals: Albany (NY), Buffalo, Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, Colorado, South Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York City, North Carolina, Northern Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Texas-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas-Houston, Washington state and Washington, D.C.
• Special awards include Best Use of Ceramics, Best Use of Aerospace Technology, Best Use of Biotechnology/Materials/Processes, Most Innovative Design of Infrastructure Systems, Best Indoor Environment, Best Futuristic City, Best Residential Zone, Best Futuristic Personal Transportation System, Best Communications System, Best Use of Automation and Control in city systems and services, Best Use of Information Technology, Best Engineering Education, Research and Development, Protecting Public Health and Safety through Competent and Ethical Engineering Practices, Most Innovative Power Generation System, Best Manufacturing Zone, Best Transportation System, Excellence In Systems Integration, Special Judges Award, and Best Model.
• Judges at the Future City Competition national finals:
• Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera, President, Biotech Institute, University of Maryland
• Vance Coffman, CEO, Lockheed Martin
• Donald Colliver, Ph.D., P.E., President, ASHRAE
• Hon. Bruce P. Mehlman, Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Judy Smith, Principal and Electrical Engineer, Booz-Allen
• Maxis, best known for its "Sim" family, develops and publishes top-quality entertainment software that uses advanced simulation technologies to deliver challenging fun through creativity, exploration, and depth of play. To date, players around the world have purchased more than eight million copies in the Sim line including SimCityClassicTM, SimCity 2000TM, SimCity 3000TM, SimAntTM, and SimFarmTM. Maxis is based in Walnut Creek, California, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS). Maxis, SimCity 2000, SimCityClassic, SimCity 3000, SimAnt, and SimFarm are trademarks of Electronic Arts. For additional information on Maxis, contact Patrick Buechner at 925-927-3782 or visit www.maxis.com.
• Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Engineers Week is celebrated annually by thousands of engineers, engineering students, teachers and leaders in government and business. The National Engineers Week consortium includes more than 100 engineering, scientific and education societies, and major corporations dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of technology and the engineering profession. Visit National Engineers Week at www.eweek.org and the Future City Competition at www.futurecity.org.
