NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ – In place of the roar of engines, a much quieter and environmentally friendlier race took place. Nearly 200 students went for the green at the fourth annual Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Competition. The race is part of TransOptions Environmental Education Initiative.
TransOptions is a non-profit New Jersey-based Transportation Management Association (TMA) which helps to present commuting solutions to residents of Essex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union and Warren Counties. The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Competition is geared to inspire students to devise their own answers to the question of alternate forms of environmentally-friendly transportation.
"It pleases me to impress upon them the alternatives to gasoline," said Joseph Caravella, TransOption’s Environmental Programs Manager. "I have the best job in the world."
Caravella said the program started four years ago with five participating schools hosted at High Point Regional High School. The event has since traveled to Randolph, Livingston and now, New Providence. Caravella said he likes the program’s rotation to different schools because of the diversity and expansion it has brought to the competition.
Close to 20 schools with students grades 9 through 12 are participating. Among them was Bloomfield Tech, which partners with PSE&G to educate students about green energy, science and sustainable energy said teacher Todd Menadier. Menadier teaches in Bloomfield Tech’s Green Energy Academy.
James Finley, a seventh and eighth grade science teacher taught the participating students on the New Providence teams when they were in the middle school. By request, they asked for his guidance to prepare for the car competition. Finley said the students worked for two months on the "Red Rocket" car during any possible opportunity including study hall and after school. Lev Litcheveskiy, 16, of New Providence, said he was impressed by the variety of cars competing teams made and was confident his team would receive an award for their "Red Rocket" design. It was Litcheveskiy’s first year competing and he hopes to participate next year.
Litcheveskiy’s intuition was spot on: his team placed first in the innovation and documentation portfolio categories.
Charlie Giacomarra, a computer-aided design (CAD) teacher at Piscataway High School, said he likes the diversity of the program and the types of students involved. "The whole purpose of the program is involving students from a variety of elements known as STEM," said Giacomarra. He said the acronym STEM signifies students coming from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Disciplines.
TransOptions provided the participating teams with double fuel cells and other materials. From there, it was up to the students to use the materials and design their cars.
The cars are judged by participating volunteer judges who work at Picatinny Arsenal. Judges base their evaluation criteria on various categories including: craftsmanship (overall vehicle construction, attractiveness, use of lightweight materials and conformity to design specifications), innovation (creativity in appearance, creative use of hydrogen storage device, innovation in transmission and wheel system), technical merit (reliability of transmission, hydrogen production device, proper construction), and documentation (providing of documentation showing investigation, research, construction schematics, testing, evaluation, design changes, and solutions). Teams raced against one another and, through the process of elimination, winning cars raced against other winning cars.
As in actual car races, students worked diligently on their cars in between racing, and like pit crews, worked to troubleshoot and resolve any issues. Some teams differentiated themselves by wearing matching T-Shirts or headbands. Some students wore shirts with their school colors and logos.
Students not only enthusiastically supported their own team, but fellow teams from the same school. Caravella said he was impressed by the students. "A number of the young men and women struck me. You could hear a pin drop when they were ready to race. They came ready to compete and learn more."
The students’ handling of their cars and work with the hydrogen cells was also remarkable to Caravella. "Hydrogen is difficult to handle for those with years of experience," he said. Caravella additionally praised what he described as "outside the box" ideas from the students, which were separately exhibited at the event. For example, Christian Barnard, age 17 and Zach Ramsfelder, age 14 of Morristown, designed a rocket car and brought a video demonstration on Barnard’s laptop.
"I do not want to stifle them," Caravella said. "With their adding other sources it’s similar to hybrid vehicles on the road." He said he learned a number of students from past challenges have eventually interned at Picatinny Arsenal, a fact which he said was extraordinary. "Tomorrow’s engineers are coming from Northern New Jersey," said Caravella.
For more information about TransOptions and their programs, see their website: http://www.transoptions.org/ Participating schools and race and design results are below.
Participating Schools:
Belvidere High School
Bergen County Tech
Bloomfield Tech
High Point Regional High School
Kittatinny Regional High School
Madison High School
Morris Knolls High School
New Providence High School
Newton High School
Piscataway High School
Warren County Technical School
Chatham High School
Livingston High School
Morris County Vo-Tech
Phillipsburg High School
Randolph High School
West Essex High School
West Morris
Mendham High School
Awards:
Speed
1st Place – "The Boat" – Kittatinny Regional High School – Frank Mark and Jack Carroll
2nd Place – "Bull’s Eye" – Piscataway High School – Jonathan Zirkle, Harry Bhatt and Dom Vocisano
3rd Place - "MK 8" – Morris Knolls High School – James Toolen, Ryan Armitt and Amanda Murrey
Technical Merit
1st Place – "Bob Saget’s Puma" – Madison High School – Harrison Mills, Nicholas Santoro, Jason Maulbeck and Joseph Kennedy
2nd Place – "Red Rocket" – New Providence High School – Lev Litchevskiy, Stephen Zimmerman, Miles Black and Tony Therattil
3rd Place – "Ventriloquism 2" – Newton High School – Brandon Jennings, Joe Skaleski, Ken Gorab and Chelsea Homa
Craftsmanship
1st Place – "Bob Saget’s Puma" – Madison High School - Harrison Mills, Nicholas Santoro, Jason Maulbeck and Joseph Kennedy
2nd Place – "Ramrod" – High Point Regional High School – Anthony Fedele, Chris Lordy, Ricky Mortimone and Kaitlyn Churchman
3rd Place – "Hydro Bond" – Newton High School – Lincoln Neggle, Amy Kolzow, Chris Nappa and Nick Grosche
Innovation
1st Place – "Red Rocket" – New Providence High School - Lev Litchevskiy, Stephen Zimmerman, Miles Black and Tony Therattil
2nd Place – "Mark II" – Madison High School – Connor Smith, Vincent Wu, Zach Humayan and Taylor Picillo
3rd Place – "Bdonka-Donk" – Madison High School – Bryan Rowe, Christian Santoro, Rachel Newburg and Matt Haugerman
Documentation Portfolio
1st Place - "Red Rocket" – New Providence High School - Lev Litchevskiy, Stephen Zimmerman, Miles Black and Tony Therattil
2nd Place – "Road Runner" – High Point Regional High School – Beau Scannavino, Nick Galvao, Shawn Snyder and Rich Gonnelli
3rd Place – "The Competition" – New Providence High School – Michael Glendinning, Steven Bronocco, Nick Xu and Dan Friedman