Contest helps boost math, science skills

Encourage worldwide interaction to solve science, engineering problems

	Chris Fitzhugh holds a drawing that shows how the temperature differences in the ocean can be used to generate large amounts of electricity — at his home in Peacham, Vt., April, 2007.
Toby Talbot / AP

updated 8:15 a.m. ET May 21, 2007

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Chris Fitzhugh spent spring break building a copper and PVC-pipe model to show how temperature differences in the ocean can be used to generate electricity. It's not just a personal quest.

The 17-year-old junior from Peacham and his teammates — two in Mexico, one at St. Johnsbury Academy — were competing in the Global Challenge, a Vermont-based contest aimed at improving American high school students' math and science skills.

During the school year, 58 teams of American students coupled with students from China, India and Japan tackled technological solutions to global warming.

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They chatted online, divided jobs based on skill, consulted with advisers, and in the final grueling weeks, wrote a professional business plan.

"The most important goal is to engage U.S. students in international collaboration using science and technology," said David Gibson, executive director of the Global Challenge and a research assistant professor in computer sciences at the University of Vermont.

The idea for the contest came to management consultant Craig DeLuca two years ago as one of his clients planned to outsource design and manufacturing, and his community in Stowe considered putting off buying science textbooks.

"I've got to do something so that our kids have a shot in the global economy," he said then.

Vermont based
He launched the contest in Vermont, and last fall it was awarded a $900,000 National Science Foundation Grant and expanded worldwide. Winners will be announced in June.

Not only does the contest encourage interaction between students across the globe to solve problems, it also exposes them to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, Gibson said. "We need projects like this across the nation, so we can scoop these kids up because schools don't do it for them," he said.

With strong corporate support he could envision a million students worldwide taking part.

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