ROME, NY — The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI), in partnership with the Griffiss Institute (GI), is proud to host the 9th Annual AFRL Challenge Competition, as one of their joint STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiatives.
The 2017 AFRL Challenge Competition begins Monday, April 17, 2017, and will end on Friday, April 21, at Griffiss Institute, 725 Daedalian Drive, Rome, New York.
The Challenge Competition is an annual competitive STEM initiative for local high school students. It is held during a week when students are on a school break and its intent is to provide a more realistic view into the types of high tech problems the nation is facing today, and how engineers and researchers go about dissecting and solving these problems. The best explanation to describe the competition is “mental marathon”.
“This year’s challenge is being developed by the Information Systems Division. It covers a wide variety of technical topics that could be used in a real-world computer forensic investigation,” says Meghan Caiazzo, the 2017 Challenge Competition AFRL/RI lead.
The teams will receive the challenge problem upon arrival Monday morning, and have the next four days to solve it. AFRL/RI engineers and scientists will be on hand to answer questions regarding the challenge problem throughout the week.
For many of the participants, being able to spend a week bouncing ideas off local engineers will be an incredible benefit and opportunity.
The AFRL Challenge Competition gives many of the participants a new perspective on the field of engineering and they get to learn more about the work that takes place at both, the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, and the Griffiss Institute.
The winners of the competition will be awarded paid summer internships, as well as other prizes.
On Friday, April 21, 2017, at 8:00 am, competition judging will begin, followed by a luncheon at noon, and an awards ceremony at 12:45 pm, where parents and local dignitaries will be on hand to support, congratulate, and recognize these technology leaders of tomorrow.
The area high schools participating in the 2017 Challenge are:
Brookfield Central School
Students: Ryan Ferris and Emma Smith
Teacher: Jona Snyder
Central Valley Academy
Students: Anthony Salvati and Dakota Turk
Teacher: Wes Laurion
Frankfort-Schuyler Central School
Students: Noah Lape and Alexander Reid
Teacher: Jodi Reid
New York Mills School
Students: Christina Malinowski and Rachel Siegel
Teacher: Michael Eramo
Oriskany Central School
Students: Dylan LaSalle and Kyle Pestar
Teacher: Teresa Man
Thomas R. Proctor High School
Students: Ta Bo and Louis Cortez
Teacher: Sam Famolaro
Westmoreland High School
Students: Jacob Gray and Samantha Sill
Teacher: Nick Darrah
Whitesboro Central School
Students: Alexander Hoy and Alex Nonemaker
Teacher: Stephen Costanza
The judges for this year’s competition are:
- James Cusack, Principal Engineer, Griffiss Institute
- Joseph Stanton, Software Engineer, BAE Systems
- Dr. Bryant Wysocki, Chief Engineer, Information Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory