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Four juniors from STISD Science Academy in Mercedes competed in the Chevron Design Challenge at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, TX, Dec. 9-10.

According to TAMU, the Design Challenge is an intensive design experience based on Texas A&M Engineering’s Aggies Invent program. Participating students were all 9th-11th graders currently enrolled in one or more Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses at their high school. All participating students at the competition were split into two groups– a maroon and a white side. Groups were divided further from there, with students from each participating high school placed in different teams with PLTW students from around the state of Texas and based upon students’ interests.

The theme for the competition was Manufacturing for Public Health. Teams were presented with a needs statement and worked through the engineering design process to come up with a solution, create a mock-up and “sell” their design to a panel of judges. Chevron and Texas A&M University provided judges and mentors, allowing students access to experts in design.

The top three teams from each side – maroon and white – were announced, and then the judges decided upon the grand champion. Two Science Academy students - Simon Sy and Daniel Chen – were each part of the first-place team on their respective sides. The judges then decided the grand champions for the event, and announced that Simon Sy’s team won. Simon was awarded a $200 gift card for Amazon, while Daniel Chen was awarded a $150 gift card. Both teams’ projects involved the design of an effective delivery system for transporting diagnostic tests.

While on campus at TAMU, the four participating Science Academy juniors - Daniel Chen, Emma Cantu, Hannah Jin, and Simon Sy – toured the campus, learned about its history and traditions, and got an inside look at the new Zachry Engineering complex.