National MESA USA Student Teams Come To Portland For Prosthetic Arms Engineering Design Competition
PORTLAND. Ore., June 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighteen student teams from around the nation will convene in Portland, Oregon June 20-22nd for the 16th Annual MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition. Approximately 72 students, finalists from a national field of 39,000 participants, will compete to invent a prosthetic arm aimed at helping low-income children from developing countries. This competition is part of MESA's (Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement) mission to help underserved youth pursue math-based higher education and employment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Lemelson Foundation is the presenting sponsor, with additional support from Intel and Portland State University's Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science. Event host Oregon MESA delivers a 25-year track record of 100% high school graduation and 92% college continuation rates for participants.
"Not only does MESA deliver positive engagement with math and science to thousands of students, it delivers concrete benefits in terms of increased high school graduation and college entrance rates," said David Coronado, president, USA MESA. "The MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition allows these students to use these skills in a positive way, competing with their peers in a national showcase to design science and math-based projects with positive social impact."
Successful programs such as MESA's are vital; national statistics reveal females and minorities are under-represented in STEM-based employment.
"The MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition is precisely the type of invention-driven educational experience The Lemelson Foundation seeks to support," said Carol Dahl, executive director, The Lemelson Foundation. "This thrill of the competition allows these kids to see their own potential to use the power of invention to improve lives, hopefully inspiring them to tackle the great challenges of our time with their own ideas and inventions."
For more information about the June 19-22nd MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition, visit: http://mesausa.org/content/2014-national-competition
About MESA USA
Since 1970, Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) has engaged thousands of underserved students so they excel in math and science and graduate with math‐based degrees. MESA partners with all segments of higher education as well as K‐12 institutions. www.mesausa.org.
About The Lemelson Foundation
Visit http://lemelson.org.
About Portland State University (PSU) Fariborz Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science
Visit http://www.pdx.edu/cecs/home.
About Intel
Visit newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
SOURCE Oregon MESA
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