Engineering Symposium Posted on 05/23/2018

The New Visions Engineering students at ONC BOCES traveled to SUNY Oneonta on May 23 for the Sixth Annual Engineering Symposium.

The Symposium features a series of presentations on research topics within a variety of engineering fields. Each presentation is the culmination of five months of work by the student and is graded by a panel of ONC BOCES instructors.

“I want them to think creatively and come up with a new solution for something. It’s not just a report. It has to be more than that and they are graded accordingly,” said Engineering Instructor David Morell.

New Visions Engineering is a technology-based, all-day program provided by ONC BOCES for area high school seniors. The course is designed to help motivated students better themselves before they go to college. Courses within the program include college-level calculus and physics, along with a project based engineering course. The students also take general education courses like participation in government, economics, and English every day.

The Engineering Symposium is an important part of the program because it is similar to what their college education will be like.

“It teaches good research techniques because they are going to be doing that every semester now that they are going to college. Every one of these students is going to programs where they are expected to do research projects,” Morell said. 

Having the students publically present their research is also key because it helps build communication skills, he said.

“No longer do scientists work in little closed rooms all by themselves. You have to be able to work as a team. You have to be able to communicate your ideas,” Morell said.

Presentations included:
Thought Controller, by Taylor Murch
Hydo Car in the Making, by Ben Worman
Down the Right Road, by Nate Climenhaga
Solidgram, by Amanda Pickwick
Back on Track, by Alex Dixon
One Germ at a Time, by Athena Basdekis
The Man in the Moon, by Owen Kennedy
Locked out of Space, by Andrew Morell
Energyneering, by Toby Harmon
Skin Reincarnation, by Maggie Schuermann
A Fresh Set of Legs, by Troy Slentz