Table of Contents
- Location
- Date & Time
- Schedule
- Program Coordinator
- Facility Rules
- Weather
- Challenges
- Judges
- Participating Schools
Event Location
Buckeye Local High School
10692 State Route 150
Rayland, Ohio 43943
Map
PDR Due Date
Due is TBD
Please submit PDRs in Word or .pdf format to seaairland@arl.psu.edu. Please do not submit links to sites such as SharePoint or Google.
Challenge Day Date
The Challenge is on for Spring 2026! Challenge Day date is Friday, May 1st!
Schedule (previous shown)
8:30 – 9 AM Arrival and Registration, Judges Meeting
9 – 9:40 AM Welcome, Keynote Speaker and Logistics
9:45-11:00 AM Challenges
11:00-11:45 Lunch
11:45 – 1 PM PM Challenges
1:00 – 1:20 Clean-up/surveys/judges scoring
1:20 – 1:45 Closing Remarks and Awards
Regional Coordinator
Jeff Merrill,
Buckeye Local HS
jeff.merrill@buckeyelocal.net
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.
Challenges:
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 |
Challenge Day Judges
2019, 2021-2025:
Harold Blust, AMA, Hill Hopper Flying Club, Wheeling, WV
Robert Brooke, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
John Ellison, AMA, Hill Hopper Flying Club, Wheeling, WV
Paul Futey, AMA, Hill Hopper Flying Club, Wheeling, WV
Tim Kennedy, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
Samantha Morlacci, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
Sean Krupa, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
Thomas Picheri, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
Dr. Joseph Randi, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
Barry Shenck, G&G Technical, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Ray Smith, Mechanical Engineer (retired)
M. Fred Snively, AMA, Hill Hopper Flying Club, Wheeling, WV
Amy Van Newkirk, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, Freeport, PA
John Zingaro, FAA Part 107 Certified Drone Pilot
James Zingaro, Electrical Engineer (retired)
Past Participating Schools
Beaver Local HS
Bedford HS (MI)
Buckeye Local HS
Central Catholic HS (Wheeling)
East Liverpool HS
Martins Ferry HS