The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center welcomed students from schools all across Maine to the first DeepCwind Consortium’s Windstorm Challenge on Friday, May 13, 2011. The events took place throughout the day at the University of Maine’s Wallace Pool and Field House, and in conjunction with the 3^rd Annual Maine Wind Blade Challenge. Over 300 students from over 30 schools competed at the events.

Windstorm Challenge 2011. Photo by Bill Drake of Photodrake.com

DeepCwind Consortium’s Windstorm Challenge asked teams of middle and high school students to design and construct a floating platform for a scale model wind turbine and deliver a business plan and sales pitch to a panel of expert judges. Teams were critiqued on technical feasibility and aesthetic design of their platform, as well as the quality of their sales pitch.

“Floating Ducks” team from Mt. Blue High School came in second,  “Team Syracuse” team from Lake Region High School came in third, “Wyld Stallyns” team from Maine School of Science and Mathematics came in fourth, and the “Wind 2” team of Westbrook High School came in fifth.

An internship worth up to $20,000 was awarded to Darius Haskell and Nathan Faessler, students from the first place Maine School of Science and Mathematics team “Ace of Spades.” Acceptance of the internship award requires enrollment in the University of Maine and entails four years of work at AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center.

All Windstorm Challenge participants received a 3-year subscription to Popular Science magazine. The participants from the two top teams also received iPod shuffles.

The DeepCwind Consortium’s mission is to establish the State of Maine as a national leader in deepwater offshore wind technology through a research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center is a state-of-the-art one-stop-shop for integrated composite materials and structural component development. Located at the University of Maine, it offers in-house capabilities for developing a composite product or structure from the conceptual stage through research, manufacturing of prototypes, comprehensive testing and evaluation, code approval and commercialization. In the past year it has been awarded nearly $40 million in funding to pursue research in deepwater offshore wind energy technology. Advanced Structures and Composites Center Director Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E. is the DeepCwind Consortium principal investigator.

Contact: Elizabeth Viselli at elizabeth.viselli@umit.maine.edu
(207) 581-2831

Cras dui dui, ornare at eleifend ut, eleifend nec lacus. Proin a mattis purus. In tempor, nunc scelerisque vehicula sollicitudin, tortor orci dignissim dolor, at aliquet tortor tellus vel lorem. Ut eu faucibus odio. Integer et condimentum nunc. Nulla facilisi. Aenean commodo massa et mauris facilisis at luctus magna dictum. Nulla vulputate semper augue, feugiat condimentum tortor congue ut. Curabitur interdum iaculis libero, nec gravida odio suscipit ut.

Vivamus auctor rhoncus mollis. Pellentesque egestas pulvinar mi non laoreet. Nunc malesuada cursus eros vel commodo. Integer sit amet elit quis felis elementum suscipit eu vitae mauris. Vivamus tempus rutrum semper. Aenean ut eros ante, sed imperdiet nisl. Sed ut lacinia ligula. Nulla facilisi. Suspendisse quis dolor tortor, et laoreet felis. Phasellus sed ipsum neque. Vestibulum vel nisi in tellus vehicula eleifend id quis urna. Sed vehicula sagittis varius. Maecenas viverra commodo vestibulum. Maecenas rhoncus pellentesque elit, a malesuada lorem ornare quis. Maecenas sit amet est mauris, eu aliquam ipsum.

Duis sit amet ante nec felis sagittis dapibus. Donec eu augue orci, at sodales nulla. Vivamus et metus nisl, id aliquam tellus. Curabitur venenatis, massa sit amet gravida luctus, ipsum tellus tincidunt nisi, nec convallis tortor eros sed risus. Nullam diam sapien, egestas eget egestas at, pretium quis velit. Ut a lorem massa, vitae sollicitudin ipsum. Nulla mattis metus nunc. Donec risus tellus, sodales nec dapibus at, suscipit eget mauris.

Nulla facilisi. Curabitur et lacus lorem, eu interdum diam. Curabitur interdum augue in risus euismod laoreet. Vivamus mollis mattis vestibulum. Cras auctor metus et lectus dapibus non viverra quam viverra. Suspendisse vel vulputate nisi. Integer ac ornare erat. Curabitur a felis nisi, sit amet rutrum libero.

The DeepCwind Consortium’s Windstorm Challenge is a middle and high school student competition where students do all of these things and the winners get a $20,000 prize. That’s pretty incredible, huh?

Through Windstorm Challenge, students apply their classroom knowledge to real-world problems. This experience is hands-on in STEM, business, and new media disciplines and helps students make some difficult decisions as they move on to selecting their future careers.

The team that builds the most effective and highest quality floating wind turbine platform wins the Windstorm Challenge. Teams also give a sales pitch to a panel of expert judges.

Winning team members who attend the University of Maine receive a paid internship at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center—a rare opportunity for first-year students to be a part of one of the leading research institutions in the United States.

Your donation ensures that we can provide a top-tier experience for Maine middle and high school students to inspire the next generation of future leaders in advertising, business, creative design, engineering, entrepreneurship, government, mathematics, science, and technology in the State of Maine. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated.

Varying sponsorship levels are available to individuals or businesses who would like to support the future leaders of Maine by sponsoring the Windstorm Challenge event day. Each sponsorship level offers increased advertising opportunities for the sponsoring party.