Maxwell High School of Technology’s Manufacturing Program students have been invited to lend a hand with some of NASA’s biggest challenges as part of the NASA HUNCH program this year. This will be the first time schools from Georgia have been included in the design review finals in Houston. Finalists will share their design prototype with astronauts, International Space Station (ISS) program, flight crew, and engineering personnel on April 19, 2023, at the Space Center in Houston, Texas, with finals following at the Johnson Space Flight Center.
Every year, 2,575 students from 277 schools across the country participate in NASA HUNCH. HUNCH stands for “High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware.” This program allows students to participate in creative innovation in the hopes of easing astronauts’ living conditions in space. So far, 1,340 HUNCH student-created designs have been implemented aboard the ISS. The project-based learning program is intended to develop innovative solutions to problems posed on the space station that are not vital for NASA engineers to work on. Consequently, these become the new challenges for high school students to address in the areas of design and prototype; video and media; sewn flight articles, flight configuration, software, hardware, and biomedical science.
Finalists Henry Chu and Lucas Burdian took on the challenge of developing a system for IV Administration in Micro Gravity, and finalists Joseph De Lima and Nate Coletta decided to work on the challenge of a Lunar Scooter Wheel Design. For these creative teams of manufacturing students, these areas represented opportunities to leverage their strengths and come up with designs that would be considered for space flight, and they were right.
Brandon Myers, the team’s Manufacturing instructor, says, “It is an exciting opportunity and honor for our students to present their designs to NASA. The students at Maxwell see the direct correlation of their learning to their future. Our students continuously take projects like NASA HUNCH to the next level. They apply concepts like design for manufacture and utilize cutting-edge technology to show family, friends, and future employers alike, that they have the talent to carry manufacturing and engineering technology to the next generation.”
Mr. Myers adds, “our students will have the opportunity to meet and interact with people thriving in careers they hope to fill one day. This final design review adds a layer of validation that is truly once in a lifetime. Our student voices will be heard. Their ideas are no longer contained within the walls of Maxwell. Our students will understand that they can achieve the remarkable at any age and any level, so long as they put in the work and strive for greatness.”
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