The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) have selected GT-AE's Science Technology and Engineering Pipeline (STEP) summer camp as one of 41 finalists in the fourth annual STEM Education Awards.

The winners in each of eight categories will be announced by TAG at an awards gala, to be held Aug. 28 at the Carlos Community Center in Atlanta. The GT-AE STEP camp is vying for the top honor in the Post-Secondary Outreach category.

“It was truly a challenge to choose from among the many applicants from around Georgia for these finalists,” said Tino Mantella, president & CEO of TAG.

Continued his colleague, Michael Robertson, director of TAG-Ed: 

“We applaud each of this year’s finalists for their extraordinary efforts to bolster awareness about the importance of STEM and for their hard work to increase student participation in science, technology, engineering and math programs."

“Georgia will need to fill some 211,000 STEM-related jobs by 2018, so we are pleased to showcase so many great schools, programs and organizations that are helping to develop a strong future workforce for our state. ”

Coordinated by the faculty and staff of GT-AE's Aerospace System Design Lab and the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, the STEP camp challenged 46 Metro Atlanta high school students to solve one of several open-ended problems.

"It wasn't as though the faculty overseeing the students knew the answer, or that there was even just one answer to be found," said Dr. Kelly Griendling, one of the research engineers who ran the camp.

"There might have been a couple ways to solve the problem, and we wanted them to find the one they could support. Of course, they were paired up with research engineering faculty who knew how to approach the problem. But we didn't make it easy."

The Georgia STEM Education Awards recognizes schools, programs, and companies for outstanding efforts and achievements in supporting and promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education in Georgia.

Examples of projects undertaken by the 2015 STEP campers include:

• 3D Printer:The students built a small 3D printer from a kit, modifying the design to make it more reliable;
• UAV for Mars:  The students designed a small UAV to be used in support of a future Mars Colony;
• Parametric Wing Design: The students tried to develop a parametric CAD model for a wing that could be manufactured in a FAB lab. This is to support forward deployed troops who may need to repair or adapt small unmanned surveillance vehicles with minimal tools and engineering knowledge;
• Hardware In-the-loop Testing:  This team designed a hardware-in-the-loop simulation framework for a quadcopter;
• FPV Gimbal for a Quadcopter: This team is designing and building a quadcopter to carry a first person view gimbal, and getting all the electronics to integrate smoothly;
• Europa Ice Drilling: The students are designing an ice drilling robot to search for life under the ice of Europa;
• Quadcopter Maritime Launch and Recovery Pad: The students are designing a launching/landing pad for a quadcopter to be deployed and recovered from a WAM-V (a 16 ft autonomous boat);
• Aerobatic Aircraft: The students developed elements of a design environment for aerobatic aircraft;
• Electromechanical Systems Education: the students are testing a course developed through one of our research projects to teach hands-on skills to young enlisted military personnel, and providing feedback on how we can improve the course.  As they complete the course, they are challenged to build, repair, and adapt a quadcopter using a set of parts that is provided.
• Robotic Arms for Kids: This team created a parametric, scalable model of a prosthetic arm for kids, which can be fully 3D printed. The goal is cut down on the time and cost required for doctors to size and manufacture the arms. 
• SysML Bots:  Using SysML, the students programmed a number of behaviors into a set of small ground robots. 
• WAM-V:  AUVSI recently donated a WAM-V to the lab, and these students put it together so that it worked. They developed an Arduino control setup for the motors.