Sixth Annual “My Trip to NASA” Student Competition Prizes Awarded

Sixth Annual “My Trip to NASA” Student Competition Prizes Awarded
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 8/4/2012

Winners received a six-day program designed especially for students at the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

In the private category, the prize went to the Helping People with Disabilities team from the Ulises Francisco Espaillat School in Santo Domingo for their experiment “Robotic Leg.” Team members are Jesús David Castro Santana, Ryan BladimirEncarnación Balbuena and Gabriel José BrensBrens who worked with support from their teacher, Cérbula María Alcántara.

The Office of the First Lady (DPD in Spanish) and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recognized and awarded the winners and participants who made it to the final round of the Sixth Annual “My Trip to NASA” Student Competition. The program seeks to incentivize and promote research among the Dominican student population.

Students from public and private schools took part in the competition. In the public category of Innovators, with their experiment titled “Food Dehydration Machine,” a team from the Luis Ernesto Gómez Uribe Technical School in La Vega won. The team members are Frandia del Carmen Abreu, Juan Ernesto ChecoCoronando and Víctor Manuel Checo who worked under the guidance of their teacher, YileniaCepeda Reyes.

In the private category, the prize went to the Helping People with Disabilities team from the Ulises Francisco Espaillat School in Santo Domingo for their experiment “Robotic Leg.” Team members are Jesús David Castro Santana, Ryan BladimirEncarnación Balbuena and Gabriel José BrensBrens who worked with support from their teacher, Cérbula María Alcántara.

Gabriel José BrensBrens, from the Helping People with Disabilitiesteam, thanked those who supported their work, such as the sponsoring institutions. He stressed that the dedication and perseverance was the key to success for their team.

Likewise, Frandia del Carmen Abreu from the Innovators team,said the prizes propel the young people on to do great things in science and in their communities as well as elevating the name of their country on an international level.

The DPD awarded both teams a six-day program designed especially for students at the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. The also received medals, certificates, laptop computers and university scholarships.

Throughout the course of the competition, private and public school students presented their projects in physics, psychology, bioengineering, astrophysics, astronomy, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, environmental and bioorganic science. Twenty-six teams from around the entire country presented projects. Each team was made up of three students and were supervised by a teacher from each of their schools.

In addition to the Office of the First Lady and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, other supporters of the competition included the Presidency of the Republic, the Pedro HenriquezUreñaNational University (UNPHU), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth and the National Office of Industrial Property (ONAPI in Spanish).

The awards ceremony was held at the Trinitaria Auditorium of the Children’s Library of the Dominican Republic. Representatives from the public and private sector, students, teachers and school representatives attended the event.