 Contact UsHome |
|||
 | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
Breckenridge Middle School
Roanoke, VA  March 9, 2007. Three students from Breckenridge Middle School in Roanoke, Virginia, winners of the National Middle School Division for the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, traveled to Melbourne, Australia, to represent the United States in the 2007 World Finals.
They triumphed to bring home first place in the Middle School Division at the State and National competitions. Patrick Doherty, now a ninth grader at William Fleming; Victoria Ledford, a ninth grader at Patrick Henry/Governor’s School; and Breckenridge eighth grader Haley Harry made up the team. The team aggressively prepared to compete. After registering through the Technology Student Association, the team began to design a 1/20 scale Formula 1 car. They used advanced 3D modeling software by Autodesk, a company committed to giving the next generation of engineers the power to dream tomorrow’s big ideas today through real-world technology. Once completed, a virtual wind tunnel executed a computational fluid dynamics simulation and visually showed how the design performed. This allowed the team to redesign any flaws before manufacturing the Formula 1 car. Once the students were satisfied, a CNC Router (a computer controlled saw) produced their design. The car was then smoothed and painted, sponsors’ logo decals were affixed, and the car was tested in two different wind tunnels. Finally, students created a trade-show quality display to highlight the process and gave a 5-8 minute oral presentation detailing the design and manufacturing process. The team not only won the State and National Middle School division, but placed second in the Judge’s Choice Award category consisting of all middle and high school teams. The first and second place Judge’s Choice Award recipients are the only two teams in the country invited to represent the USA at the World Finals. The students also won the Autodesk Inventor Award for best design. |
|||||||||||||||||