April 2010
Imperial Valley MESA students wowed more than 150 industry and education community members while presenting engineering projects at an energy conference in March.
Fifty students were invited to the third annual Imperial Valley Renewable Energy Summit.
Imperial County superintendent of schools, Anne Mallory, was so impressed by the students, she invited the group to present their projects to the Imperial County Board of Education next week.
"MESA is making a significant difference for students in Imperial County," Mallory said. "I was very pleased to have the opportunity to be present while MESA students demonstrated their projects at the Renewable Energy Conference and am hopeful that MESA alumnae will consider employment opportunities that will arise as a result of the renewable energy possibilities."
At the summit, students presented a biomedical arm, a windmill and two robotics projects to a standing room only crowd.
One group configured their FIRST robotics robot to carry hors devours around the room during the opening reception. Many industry leaders attended, including Mike Niggli, COO of San Diego Gas and Electric, said Imperial Valley center director Jeanette Ramos-Espino said. Assembly member Manuel Perez was the keynote speaker.
Designing, building and testing these projects teaches physics, science and math concepts to students in a fun, hands-on way.
The summit's goal was to promote the Imperial Valley as an ideal place for firms to establish renewable energy projects. It was organized by the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corp.
This is the first year that the education community was involved with the event.
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