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Garfield-Palouse Engineering Team Presents to SEL Friday Lunch
April 1, 2008
PULLMAN, WA – Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) hosted the nationally recognized Garfield-Palouse High School Engineering Design Team at the company’s Friday lunch March 28, where the team presented its winning design, the Paraplegic Agricultural Lift (PAL), for a combine. The Garfield-Palouse team earned second place in the 2008 Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) National Engineering Design Challenge held in Arlington, Virginia.
The national academic competition challenges students to apply math and science to solve real-world engineering scenarios. The Garfield-Palouse students enhanced a lift developed by Warren and Sean Neal of Garfield by adding electronic and mechanical components to make it operate through remote control. The added features permit the user greater self-sufficiency in the workplace. The team presented its project at the national competition in February, where it also received the Most Innovative Design Award.
The Friday lunch demonstration highlighted the plans and prototype construction in developing the PAL. The students used a winch to lift and lower the user to and from the combine catwalk; a modified garage door push-pull system to move the user from the starting point to the combine catwalk and vice versa; and a linear actuator to pivot the person, in a smooth motion, into and out of the combine cab.
SEL President Edmund O. Schweitzer said he was excited to see such young minds doing amazing things. “Inventing products and machines that help society is the result of dedication to science and math education,” Schweitzer said, “and we are committed to supporting these efforts.” SEL donated equipment, and SEL Development Manager Robert Lopez provided engineering as well as monetary support for the project.
Competing against 250 teams seemed daunting, the students said, but their national presentation “was a huge success, and it couldn’t have gone better.” Team adviser Jim Stewart said the students represented their school and their communities with enthusiasm and respect.
Team members included students Colby Cocking, Sean Neal, Beau Fisher, Miles Pfaff, Spencer Gray, Aaron Rager, Anna Iverson, Katie Redman, Travis Mallett, and Steven Tronsen.
SEL serves the electric power industry worldwide through the design, manufacture, supply, and support of products and services for power system protection, monitoring, control, automation, and metering. SEL offers unmatched local technical support, a worldwide, ten-year product warranty, and a commitment to making electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.
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JETS team presentation to SEL at Friday lunch.
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