Hewlett HS Among Top 10 Finalists in STEM Clean Tech Competition

Hewlett, NY; May 25, 2018 – Innovative ideas and solutions are needed to combat the growing crisis posed by global climate change. Responding to this call for solutions are 10 high school finalists teams selected for the 2018 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition – including two from Long Island: George W. Hewlett High School in Hewlett and Plainview Old-Bethpage-JFK High School in Plainview. Teams from around the world will vie for over $30,000 in cash prizes on Thursday, July 12th at Stony Brook University. Now in its seventh year, the Competition is hosted by Rockville Centre, New York-based Center for Science Teaching & Learning (CSTL). The sponsor of the Competition is Hauppauge, Long Island-based Spellman High Voltage Electronics, a leader in high voltage technology in the medical, industrial and scientific fields.

The Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition highlights the importance of STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) education and learning. Since 2012, the Competition addresses an issue that is grounded in core technological competency areas while focusing on the next great engineering challenges. The theme for the 2018 competition, “Solving Climate Change,” challenged high school students to identify a specific problem associated with this challenging issue. The competition is a unique solutions-based, worldwide research and design challenge for pre-college youth. This record breaking year saw 547 teams enter the competition including 39 from different nations.

“At Spellman High Voltage, we recognize the importance of STEM and inspiring the next generation of leaders. We are certain that this year’s competitors from across the United States and from around the globe will once again impress us with their knowledge, creativity and problem-solving capabilities. Their projects could one day play an instrumental role in addressing global climate change and other environmental challenges,” said Dr. Loren Skeist, President of Spellman High Voltage Electronics.

“The Clean Tech Competition is a unique solutions based competition where students focus on addressing environmental concerns. We are certain that the presentations which we will see this year from teams from around the world will reflect creativity, innovation and STEM ingenuity at tackling global climate change,” said Dr. Ray Ann Havasy, Director of CSTL.

This year’s finalists from Long Island listed by team names, team leaders and schools are:

• 5-ALA: George W. Hewlett High School, Hewlett, New York - Project Title: Investigating the role of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid and ELIP1 on Ceratopteris richardii
• Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Plainview Old-Bethpage-JFK High School, Plainview, New York -Project Title: Application of Graphene Oxide/Amine Functionalized Graphene Oxide onto Polymer Electrolyte Membranes (PEM) and Electrodes to Optimize Hydrogen Fuel Cell Performance

Other finalists include teams from Australia, Peru, Ireland, Singapore, and the United States (California).

Monetary prizes will be awarded to a total of 10 finalists, with $10,000 awarded to the winner, $7,000 to 2nd place, $5,000 to 3rd place. The top team will attend and present at The World Congress on Climate Change in Rome, Italy in September and will continue its relationship with a professional serving as a mentor.

“Clean technology is critical in making a difference in our world. The students who will present their projects at Stony Brook University in July as part of this competition are inspiring and emerging STEM leaders,” said Judith Greiman, Chief Deputy to the President and Senior Vice President for Government and Community Relations at Stony Brook University. “The ideas and concepts that these students have developed have the potential to bring solutions to communities around the world that are impacted by climate change and other environmental challenges.”

For more information about, CSTL or the 2018 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition, please visit the Clean Tech Competition website at www.cleantechcompetition.org or call (516) 764-0045.

Headquartered in Hauppauge, NY, Spellman High Voltage Electronics, a family owned company established in 1947, is the preferred global supplier of precision DC high voltage power supplies and Monoblock® X-Ray sources for medical, industrial and scientific applications. It currently has over 2,000 employees in five design, six production and eight support centers in North America, Europe and Asia. Spellman partners with leading technology companies to advance medical care, industrial processes, quality control, scientific research, security and telecommunications by providing innovative high voltage power conversion solutions. For more information about Spellman High Voltage Electronics, visit www.spellmanhv.com.

The Center for Science Teaching & Learning (CSTL) is a not-for-profit organization with a mission of encouraging science learning and literacy. CSTL develops programs for people of all ages and utilizes inquiry-based learning as its foundation for program development. This year marks the first for which CSTL is serving as the administrator of the Clean Tech Competition. For more information, visit www.cleantechcompetition.org. For more information about CSTL visit www.ctsl.org.

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