Connecticut and San Jose Students Take Top Prizes in Junior Engineering Technical Society's National 2010 TEAMS Competition

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tackling one of the world's most pressing problems – the global water shortage – from an engineering perspective, students from the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., took the top national honor for the 11/12th grade level, while those from the Harker School in San Jose, Calif., were named the national 9/10th grade winners in the 31st annual national TEAMS competition sponsored by the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS).  

The 2010 winners competed against more than 10,000 ninth through 12th-grade students from 42 states across the country.  

As the highest ranking teams in the country, both the Taft and Harker School students receive for their school $2,500 and a trophy, plus medals and individual certificates of excellence.  As the top 11/12^th grade team, the Walt Disney World Resort also has awarded The Taft School team a three-night stay at Walt Disney World, including Park Hopper Tickets, and the opportunity to take part in one Disney Youth Education Series program of their choice.

"Congratulations to all of our winning teams and a special thanks to the more than 100 colleges, universities, schools and corporations that graciously served as our competition host sites," said Linda Snow-Solum, Senior Director, Rockwell Collins and President of the Board of Directors, JETS.  "With this year's TEAMS competition, the students gained a unique understanding of the humanitarian aspects of engineering and how different types of engineers are working to solve some of society's most critical problems.  Nothing is arguably more important to life than access to clean water."  

In addition to the two first-place or "Best Overall" teams, JETS named second- and third-place national winners including:

Second-Place National Winners:

Hopkins School, New Haven, Conn., 11/12 grade level

Saratoga High School, Saratoga, Calif., 9/10 grade level

Third-Place National Winners:

Oklahoma School for Science and Mathematics, Oklahoma City, 11/12 grade level

New Canaan High School, New Canaan, Conn., 9/10 grade level (tie)

East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, N.J., 9/10 grade level (tie)

JETS is the leading non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to America's youth.  Each year, JETS, through its TEAMS competition, provides students in grades nine through 12 with the opportunity to make real-world connections between math and science to engineering by solving actual engineering scenarios.  For more information, please visit www.JETS.org.

SOURCE Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS)