POB-JFK HS Competing in International Student STEM Competition

July 2, 2018; Plainview, NY – In the United States and around the globe, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education is critical for solving challenging issues such as climate change and creating the work force of the future. In the next decade, it is predicted that there will be a surge of roughly 14 million jobs available in STEM industries yet not enough skilled people to fill them. As part of STEM awareness, the Spellman High Voltage Clean Tech Competition focuses on the need to solve global environmental challenges through scientific methodology and innovative thinking among high school age students.

Culled from the 1,305 students on 547 teams from 39 nations that submitted a record breaking number of applications to participate in this competition, 10 finalist teams, including Long Island’s Plainview Old Bethpage-JFK High School of Plainview, NY and Hewlett High School of Hewlett, NY, have been selected. Both of of these schools make up four teams from the United States along with six from abroad to compete in the 2018 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition finals on Thursday, July 12 at Stony Brook University. Managed by the Rockville Centre, NY-based Center for Science Teaching & Learning (CTSL), the competition will take place at Stony Brook University’s Charles B. Wang Center at 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY.

Teams will vie for $30,000 in cash prizes as they explain their solution to a climate change problem they have identified. The winning team will also have the opportunity to attend The World Congress on Climate Change in Rome, Italy this September.

Beyond both Long Island schools, this year’s top10 finalists also include: California’s Adrian Wilcox High School of Santa Clara and Henry M. Gunn High School of Palo Alto; Mount Maria College of Australia; Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt of Peru; NPS International School of Singapore as well as two teams from National Junior College of Singapore; and Regina Mundi College of Ireland.

“Stony Brook University faculty mentor high school students in various scientific competitions, and we were proud to host the CSTL Clean Tech Finals. The creative solutions developed by the finalists were impressive and have significant practical application. These students are solving the problems of today. We hope they consider bringing their brainpower and creativity to Stony Brook when they move on to college,” said Judith Greiman, Chief Deputy to the President and Senior Vice President for Government and Community Relations at Stony Brook University.

The final event in this inspiring competition is open and free to the public and will be attended by students, parents, teachers, members of the business community and groups. Teams and their projects will be available between 8:30 a.m. and 12 noon, as well as during a “Product Pitch” presentation to a panel of entrepreneur judges at 1:45 p.m. and awards ceremony at 3:00 p.m. Members of the public who wish to attend this free program are asked to RSVP to kevin@cstl.org.

According to Dr. Loren Skeist, President of Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corporation, the competition’s lead sponsor, “As a high technology manufacturing company, we count on the importance of innovative scientific thinking for the future of our workforce as well as for the development of our products. And as the commitment to scientific education becomes more imperative every year, we remain enthusiastic in our support of next generation STEM and clean technology opportunities. This is why we sponsor the Spellman Clean Tech Competition as a big part of our joint mission with CSTL”.

“The Spellman HV Clean Tech Competition brings much needed attention to STEM education in the United States and around the world. The solutions that our student teams develop have the potential to solve major climate change challenges,” said Dr. Ray Ann Havasy of the Center for Science Teaching & Learning.

“Based on the innovation we saw last year, we expect to see even more amazing solutions presented at the finals on July 12th,” added Dr. Skeist.

For more information about this event, CTSL or the 2018 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition, please visit the Clean Tech Competition website at

www.cleantechcompetition.org or call (516) 764-0045.

The Center for Science Teaching & Learning (CSTL) is a not-for-profit organization with a mission of encouraging science learning and literacy. CSTL develops programs for people of all ages and utilizes inquiry-based learning as its foundation for program development. This year marks the seventh for which CSTL is serving as the administrator of the Clean Tech Competition. For more information, visit www.cleantechcompetition.org. For more information about CTSL visit www.ctsl.org.

Spellman High Voltage Electronics is the world's leading provider of high performance, custom and standard DC high voltage power converters and Monoblock® X-Ray sources for medical, industrial, semiconductor, security, analytical, laboratory and under-sea cable power-feed applications. As a global supplier with strategically located design and manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, Spellman is committed to providing best-in-class support to OEM customers and end-users throughout the world. For more information, contact: Suzanne Muller at smuller@spellmanhv.com.

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PHOTO CAPTIONS:

• 0415: Pictured at Center for Science Teaching & Learning’s (CTSL) 2017 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition is last year’s first place winning team Alyssa Iryami and Audrey Shine of Super Silk Team from Plainview Old-Bethpage JFK High School, Plainview, NY with their Project, Utilization of Bombyx mori in the Production of Polymeric Graphene Enhanced Super Silk.
• Super Silk Team Members: Pictured at Center for Science Technology & Learning’s (CSTL) 2017 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition is last year’s first place winning team Super Silk of Plainview Old Bethpage-JFK High School of Plainview, NY. Pictured from left to right are: Dr. Loren Skeist, President; Spellman High Voltage Electronics; Super Silk Team members from Plainview Old-Bethpage JFK High School Alyssa Iryami and Audrey Shine of, Plainview, NY; and Ray Ann Havasy, Director at The Center for Science Teaching & Learning (CSTL).