|
 |
May
3, 2003
Six High
Schools are Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge
Winners
WASHINGTON, DC - Six high school teams were winners
today of the first annual Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model
Car Challenge, part of the Department of Energy's
National Science Bowl.
Pullman High School of Pullman, WA, won the Grand
Prix speed race. Soda Springs High School of Soda
Springs, Idaho, won a King of the Hill competition
to see which car could climb the steepest incline.
The teams of four students in each race received
$1,000 for their schools' science departments.
Ten of the 66 National Science Bowl high school
teams competed in the Model Car Challenge by designing,
building, testing and then racing hydrogen fuel
cell model cars.
"Last January, President Bush announced a
national hydrogen fuel initiative to speed the
development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and
the energy infrastructure to support them,"
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. "Many
of our nation's best minds are currently working
to overcome the challenges to creating these cars,
which will end our dependence on foreign oil and
eliminate the harmful emissions of gas-powered
vehicles. I hope we have helped ignite in this
year's Science Bowl participants an interest in
the potential of hydrogen so they can help usher
in the hydrogen revolution."
Second in the speed race was Eight Mile School
of Trenton, ND. Third place went to Maui High
School of Kahlului, HI. West Chester East High
School of West Chester, PA, won second place in
the King of the Hill race. Cookeville High School
of Cookeville, TN, took third place. Second and
third place teams for each race received $750
and $500, respectively.
The model cars used electricity from small solar
panels to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The teams then stored the hydrogen on the car
and used it to run a fuel cell that generated
electricity to power a motor. Since no combustion
was involved, the only byproducts were heat and
water.
Engineers from the Department of Energy, the Science
Bowl's government sponsor, and from General Motors
provided technical advice. General Motors provided
the model car components. The model cars were
no larger than one foot wide and two feet long.
The Model Car Challenge is a new, hands-on Science
Bowl activity. The Energy Department's Office
of Science, which administers the Science Bowl,
selected 10 teams for the model car challenge
by lottery from the pool of Science Bowl teams
applying to be in the race.
On Sunday, May 4, the students will join 56 other
teams from around the country for the academic
competition portion of the National Science Bowl.
In round robin and double elimination matches,
the teams will answer increasingly difficult questions
in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics,
and earth and general sciences.
Thirteen thousand students at 1,800 schools participated
in 66 regional Science Bowl competitions this
year. The Department of Energy created the National
Science Bowl7 in 1991 to encourage high school
students to excel in math and science and to pursue
careers in these fields. The department supports
math and science education to help provide a technically
trained and diverse workforce for the agency and
the nation.
Biographical information on the teams and more
information on the Department of Energy's National
Science Bowl® is available on the web at www.scied.science.doe.gov.
Media Contact: Jeff Sherwood, 202/586-4826
Science Bowl Press Room, 301/347-3850
Number: PR-03-093
|
|
|
|
