PA – Altoona Region

Table of Contents

Event Location 
Penn State Altoona
3000 Ivyside Park
Altoona, PA 16601

Maps

PDR Due Date
Due date is TBD.
Please send .doc or .pdf files to Sea Air Land Group.

Air Challenge Teams Only – Flight Certification Video Due 
Due Date is TBD.  (Typically 2 weeks prior to Challenge Day.)

Challenge Date
The Spring 2025 SeAL Challenge is on.  The Challenge Day date is Tuesday, May 13th!

Schedule
Challenge Day Events Schedule (previous shown)

Team Registration in Adler Athletic Complex 8:30 – 8:50 am
Opening in SLEP Student Center                      9:00 am
Keynote Speakers                                               9:15 am
First Runs Adler Athletic Complex                   10:30 am
Lunch SLEP Student Center                             12:00 pm
Second Runs                                                       12:30 pm
Lab Tours                                                             2:15 pm
Awards/Closing in SLEP Student Center         2:45 pm

Regional Coordinator Contacts
Debra Flaig, Penn State Altoona – Continuing Education, Education and Training Specialist
Shari Routch, Penn State Altoona – Director of Enrollment Management

Central Coordinator
The Pennsylvania State University
Applied Research Laboratory at the Electro-Optics Center
222 Northpointe Boulevard
Freeport, PA 16229
Sea Air Land Group

Facility Rules
Conduct detrimental to the public interest or abuse of the building and grounds under any circumstances is expressly prohibited. The building, grounds, equipment and restrooms shall be left in a clean, orderly condition. Failure to do so may result in fees (as determined by the Owners) being assessed. No smoking is allowed in any building and no alcoholic beverages are permitted on the grounds.

Weather Considerations
It is the policy of Penn State to place the highest emphasis on the safety of our participants and staff. When there is lightning in the area, all outside activity will be suspended until the threatening weather leaves the area. Thank you for your understanding of our efforts to put safety first.

Challenges:
Sea – A container ship full of cargo was anchored outside of port in 30 meters of water, awaiting their scheduled time to unload at the dock in port, when it was hit by a rogue wave.  As the crew had already loosened some of the straps in preparation for unloading, many of the containers were knocked into the water.  Some of these containers included radioactive materials.  These containers need to be retrieved as soon as possible.  Due to the portside activity in the aftermath of the rogue wave, the safest and most efficient means of recovery will be to send a submersible to gather the containers.

Sea Guidelines 2024-2025

Air – A freight train has derailed in a very sparsely populated area.  Cars from the train are scattered widely.  Some of these train cars were carrying irradiated materials and radioactive samples headed to a laboratory for an experiment.   While emergency crews prepare to travel to the wreck site, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with radiation detection capabilities is being sent to the scene to survey the site. The UAV will be used to locate the cars which were carrying the materials and samples, and which may now have damaged packaging.  With cameras, sensors and automated image processing, the UAV will fly over the wreckage and determine if any radiative matter is uncontained.  A live relay of this information will be sent to the first responders, allowing them to remain protected at a safe distance until the best method of response is determined.  In addition, the UAV will be able to drop markers on “hot spots” to indicate a radiation danger zone and serve as a warning to these emergency ground crews.

Air Guidelines 2024-2025

Land – A wildfire moving through a game preserve has scattered the animals and destroyed some of their habitat.  As the high winds continually shift the wildfires, the danger of the situation would be increased if manned rescue teams were dispersed to locate and gather the animals.  Therefore, your team, with an unmanned land rover, is being sent for the animals in order to bring them in for safety and evaluation.  The animals will be placed in temporary housing until the fire is extinguished, repairs to the habitats can be made and the area is safe.

Land Guidelines 2024-2025

Judges:

Past Participating Schools:
Altoona HS
Bald Eagle HS
Bishop Guilfoyle
Central Mountain HS
Hollidaysburg HS
Penn Cambria HS
Windber HS