By Dale H. Long
Wabash Valley high school students got to live out their dreams of designing theme park rides and attractions while making the real-world connection between math and science to engineering through the Junior Engineering and Technical Society’s TEAMS academic competition.
Nineteen teams consisting of no more than eight students each from 11 Indiana and Illinois high schools discovered the engineering involved in designing, building and running America’s theme parks by answering questions that focused on the topic “Behind the Scenes: Theme Parks.” Students had to consider structural, geotechnical, special effects, biological and feasibility aspects of their designs.
“I like being able to work in groups and figuring out different types of complicated problems,” said Neelesh Shah, a junior from Terre Haute South. “I enjoy engineering and doing this program has made me more prone to majoring in engineering.”
Jon Drobny, a junior from Terre Haute North, added, “[JETS] provided a method for me to challenge myself and solve problems I might face in the future.”
“I liked learning about what kind of problems engineers face,” said Marcus Lindsey, a junior at West Vigo.
West Vigo classmate Jordan Thralls responded, “I got to experience what engineers really work on.”
Terre Haute South’s “A” varsity team posted the top score in the multiple-choice portion of the competition, with 54 points, and also took home first place honors among Indiana junior varsity teams. Robinson topped Illinois teams in the varsity and junior varsity divisions.
Enrollment division winners among Indiana varsity teams included Terre Haute South, for schools with 251 to 450 seniors; Edgewood, for 151-250 seniors; North Central, for 51 to 150 seniors; and Vincennes Rivet, for 4-50 seniors.
Members of Terre Haute South’s varsity team were seniors Raj Bhuptani and Pardha Ponugoti; juniors Peter Bittar, Andrew Huh, John Ryan and Sachin Shinde; sophomore Joseph Botros; and freshman Mark Botros. The school’s junior varsity included junior Angela Song; sophomores Elijah Beard and Sam Throne; and freshmen Julie Bittar, Ian Francis, Michael Mardini, Nick Posey and Neelay Purohit. Both teams were coached by Daniel Wunderlich.
North Central’s JETS team included seniors Kayla Irwin, Ethan Jacob, Brad Thompson and Isaac Trimmer; juniors Miles Coffin, Caleb Gilman and Matt Hinesley; and sophomore Josh Lawson. The team was coached by Chris Siscoe.
Other participating schools were Casey-Westfield, Clay City, Riverton Parke, Teutopolis, Terre Haute North and West Vigo.
All teams are now eligible for state and national recognition.
Wabash Valley Regional JETS TEAMS Competition
INDIANA SCHOOLS
Varsity Division 1 (4-50 Senior Enrollment): 1. Vincennes Rivet
Varsity Division 3 (51-150 Senior Enrollment): 1. North Central, 2. Clay City, 3. Riverton Parke
Varsity Division 5 (151-250 Senior Enrollment): 1. Edgewood, 2. West Vigo
Varsity Division 7 (251-450 Senior Enrollment): 1. Terre Haute South A, 2. Terre Haute South B, 3. Terre Haute North
Junior Varsity (All Divisions): 1. Terre Haute South, 2. Terre Haute North, 3. West Vigo, 4. Vincennes Rivet
ILLINOIS SCHOOLS
Varsity Division 3 (51-151 Senior Enrollment): 1. Robinson, 2. Teutopolis B, 3. Casey-Westfield A, 4. Casey-Westfield B, 5. Teutopolis A
Junior Varsity (All Divisions): 1. Robinson
