HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	297
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

congratulating iolani school's all-girls team for winning the u.s. department of energy's 2009 real world design challenge.

     WHEREAS, the Real World Design Challenge is an annual event that provides high school students with the opportunity to tackle real world engineering challenges in a team environment, applying the knowledge they have gleaned from their classrooms to important energy and environment-related technical problems being faced in the workplace; and

     WHEREAS, the purpose of the Real World Design Challenge is to ensure the future of America's economic competitiveness by inspiring today's students to become tomorrow's engineers; and

     WHEREAS, the Real World Design Challenge strives to "keep it real" for its participants by:

     (1)  Presenting students with real problems that provide a practical application of classroom curriculum;

     (2)  Providing students with real tools that will inspire them by showing them what is at their fingertips;

     (3)  Encouraging students to take on real roles that require teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills;

     (4)  Requesting students to produce real designs that foster creativity, critical thinking, and innovation; and

     (5)  Motivating students to make real contributions by emphasizing that they can make a difference;

and

     WHEREAS, the theme for the 2009 Real World Design Challenge was aviation and fuel consumption, and student teams across the country were asked to redesign an existing aircraft to maximize its fuel efficiency while meeting precise performance capabilities, using professional engineering software donated by the Parametric Technology Corporation to develop their solutions; and

     WHEREAS, ten states sent teams to compete at the Real World Design Challenge National Challenge, held from March 20-22, 2009, in Washington D.C., and the 54 participating students were provided with expense-paid trips to the national competition courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy; and

     WHEREAS, the team from Hawaii was made up of six students from IOLANI SCHOOL: Amy Ko, Adeline Li, Anya Liao, Celia Ou, Jessica Lynn Saylors, and Julia Zhang, and their coach Carey Inouye; and

     WHEREAS, in addition to the original aviation design challenge, the teams were asked to develop a marketing presentation explaining how and why they arrived at their proposed solution, and winners were chosen based on the teams' design solutions, presentations, and project journals; and

     WHEREAS, the three teams that made it to the final round of the competition were Hawaii's own IOLANI SCHOOL, Newburyport High School of Massachusetts, and Cumberland Valley High School of Pennsylvania; and

     WHEREAS, the quality of the projects from the top three finalists indicated to judge John Stuart that the students who participated in the final competition could go to work at a major engineering firm and make immediate contributions, and gave him the confidence that "our schools can produce U.S. students who will solve some of our major energy and environmental challenges over the coming decades"; and

     WHEREAS, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu noted that the participants in the Real World Design Challenge show that "U.S. students, when challenged to excel, are able to perform at the highest levels in science, math, and engineering"; and

     WHEREAS, the all-girl team from IOLANI SCHOOL made their school and Hawaii proud after working together to solve a real-life engineering challenge with impressive results, emerging as the winners of the competition and bringing home several prizes: $3,000 for Iolani's science and technology department, the Real World Design Challenge trophy, a model of the Cessna Citation X aircraft, and an iPod Shuffle for each team member; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that this body hereby recognizes and congratulates IOLANI SCHOOL and the winners of the 2009 Real World Design Challenge, applauds their impressive achievement, and extends to them its warmest aloha and best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Iolani School; 2009 Real World Design Challenge Winners