Precollege Education Committee (PEC)

 

2004 PEC Teacher-Engineer Partnership Award Winners

IEEE-USA's Precollege Education Committee is proud to present the second winning team of the IEEE-USA Teacher-Engineer Partnership Award, William G. Speed, Jr. (teacher) and Mark R. Rognstad (engineer) from Kailua, Hawaii (Region 6). Speed and Rognstad won for providing mentorship, support and encouragement to students interested in science, technology, and mathematics through engineering competitions at the local, regional and national levels.

William and Mark’s partnership started in 1999. Together, they coached high school students for the Test of Engineering Aptitude for Mathematics and Science, known as “TEAMS.” Their partnership grew throughout the years to include mentoring students for a robotics competition sponsored by the Marine Advanced technical education or “MATE.”

Participating in the “FIRST” and “MATE” competitions was very costly for the Hawaii high schools since they had to travel to the continental US. William and Mark solved this problem by creating the Hawaii Underwater Robot Challenge, known as “HURC.” This program allowed Hawaiian students to participate in a robotics competition without enduring the heavy travel costs.

In December 2003, twelve teams competed in HURC, giving engineering presentations and submitting technical reports.

With over 100 students competing, the HURC competition became so popular that it is now recognized as a regional competition for MATE.

William and Mark’s award was presented at the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Conference on 24 September 2005 in Washington, District of Columbia.

Updated: 25 May 2010
Contact: Sandra Kim, sandra.kim@ieee.org