PHYSICS TEAMS TAKE FIRSTS AT UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION

Students from HHS's Chemistry and Physics Problem Solving class won four out of the nine first-place awards given in the University of Vermont's annual Technology and Science Competition on December 6-7th. The challenge, known as Aero-Golf this year, read: "Teams must design and build a 'puttbot' (remote-controlled wind-driven vehicle) capable of transporting weighted golf balls from one point to another over a specified course within a prescribed amount of time, using only wind power. Wind from 20-inch box fans in fixed positions around each course will provide the sole source of power for locomotion."

The HHS students, who prepared for the contest in class and on weekends, won the Uphill Competition, the Marketing Award, the Design Notebook Award ("for keeping continuous careful records, as real-world industrial designers must do") and the Performance Award. They won a total of $1,500 for school programs donated by sponsors such as IBM, General Dynamics, Goodrich and Fairpoint Communications.

Students on this year's team were Andrew Powell, Bob Collier, Devin Kehler, Jason Barry, Justin Yang, Kevin Dade, Max Hogue, Michael Balch, Michael Tecca, Peter McNally, Ryan Collins and Steve Dacey, led by chemistry teacher Kevin Lavigne. Other schools in the competition were Sharon Academy, River Valley Technical Center, Rice Memorial High, Champlain Valley Union High, Missisquoi Valley Union High, Mount Abraham High and a home-schooled team from South Hero, VT.