Table of Contents
Event Location
Bradford Area High School
81 Interstate Parkway
Bradford, PA 16701
PDR Due Date
The Preliminary Design Review due date is TBD .
PDRs should be submitted to the Sea Air and Land Group in either Word or .pdf format.
Challenge Day Date
Challenge Day 2026 is on! It will be Thursday, April 23rd.
Schedule of Challenge Day Events (typical shown):
8:00 – 8:30 Registration
8:30 – 9:00 Kick-off and Guest Speaker
9:00 – 9:30 Set-Up, Select Challenge Order and Flight Readiness
9:30 – 11:30 Morning Sea, Air and Land Challenges
11:30 – 12:30 Lunch
12:30 – 2:30 Afternoon Sea, Air and Land Challenges
2:30 – 3:30 Wrap-up, Closing and Awards
Regional Coordinators
Peter Eckstrom, Bradford Educator (peckstrom@bradfordareaschools.org)
Katie Pude, Bradford Superintendent (kpude@bradfordareaschools.org)
Dave Ray, Bradford HS Principal (dray@bradfordareaschools.org)
Bradford School District
81 Interstate Parkway
Bradford, PA 16701
Central Coordinator
The Pennsylvania State University
Electro-Optics Center
222 Northpointe Boulevard
Freeport, PA 16229
seaairland@arl.psu.edu
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
The highest emphasis of safety will be placed on 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.
Challenge Missions:
Sea – Following the sinking of a submarine in shallow waters during a training exercise in the Barents Sea, there is concern about potential radiation leaks from the onboard nuclear reactors. This leak could contaminate the sensitive fishing grounds. In the years following the incident and recovery, expeditions are being sent from the marine biology institute to the site annually to monitor for any increase in levels of radiation in the water, sediment, or marine life nearby. (In past years, only background radiation levels were measured.)
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Sea Guidelines 2025-2026 |
Air – Twentieth century activities, including nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining, and waste storage, contribute to elevated radiation measurements in some American desert areas. Natural occurring radiation is also present due to the higher altitudes of some of these desert areas as well as the composition of the local rocks and soil. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) outfitted with radiation detection sensors and automated data processing will scan the area to inspect for any levels of high radiation. In addition, the UAV will be able to drop markers on the detected “hot spots” to indicate a radiation danger zone for remediation crews. Note that time is of the essence as there is a lot of ground to cover and remediation should begin as soon as possible.
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Air Guidelines 2025-2026 |
Land – A military compound in a hostile area has just been captured. It is suspected that the warehouse within the compound contains barrels emitting high levels of radiation. If this is true, it is too dangerous to send in a team with hand-held radiation detectors to verify what is contained in the building. Therefore, an unmanned rover with alpha, beta, neutron and gamma radiation sensing capabilities will be used to search the warehouse and remove the barrels, sorting those that are safe to handle from those that are not.
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Land Guidelines 2025-2026 |
Past Participating Schools
Bradford
Coudersport
Cuba-Rushford
Ellicottville (NY)
Franklinville (Ten Broeck Academy, NY)
Kane
Northern Potter
Otto-Eldred
Oswayo
Seneca Highlands CTC
Smethport
St. Mary’s