VA – Southeastern

Table of Contents

Event Location
Colonel Fred Cherry Middle School
7401 Burbage Dr.
Suffolk, VA 23435
Image result for photo Colonel Fred Cherry Middle School
Map

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Teams
The Challenge is on for 2025!  This region is open to both middle school and high school teams. Schools register here.
Recommended team size is 3-10 students.  Teams, please register by January 30th, 2025.  Each student on a team should register here.

PDR Due Date
Preliminary Design Reviews are due no later than March 15th, 2025.
Please submit PDRs in Word or .pdf format to Sea Air Land Group.

Challenge Date
Challenge Day is set for Saturday, May 3rd, 2025!

Schedule (previous year shown)
9:00 – 10:00  Arrival and Registration
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome and Kick-Off
10:30 – 10:45 Determine Run Order and Prepare Vehicles
10:45 – 11:45 Morning Sea, Air and Land Challenges
11:45 – 12:30 Lunch, Vehicle Updates
12:30 – 1:45  Afternoon Sea, Air and Land Challenges
1:45 – 2:00   Clean-Up, Surveys and Tally Scores
2:00 – 2:30   Closing Remarks and Awards

Regional Coordinators
David Haeberle, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher
Christine Lafferty, Lead Technology Educator
Aulander Skinner, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher
Suffolk Public Schools

Central Coordinator
Susan Zingaro
The Pennsylvania State University
Applied Research Laboratory
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
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 – 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

Past Participating Schools
MS:
Col. Fred Cherry Middle School
Forest Glen Middle School
John F. Kennedy Middle School
John Yeates Middle School

HS:
Booker High School (Florida)
The College and Career Academy at Pruden (CCAP)
King’s Fork High School
Lakeland High School
Nansemond River HS
Norfolk Technical Center
Smithfield HS
Southampton HS
VA Beach Advanced Technology Center

Past Judges 
Calypso Gilstrap, Department of Education
Richard Dyer, Tidewater Community College Assistant Professor
Wendy Forsman
Greg Harju, Huntington Ingalls Newport News
Noah Hill
Susie Hill, Nauticus
Rachel Hirsch-Brooks
Qiana Jackson, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory
Kelly Lafferty
Jacob Littlefield
Anne McCoy
Zachary Morrison
Anne Petersen, VA DOE Science Coordinator
Ben Shapiro
Kenneth Thrasher, Huntington Ingalls Newport News
Jim Zingaro, Electrical Engineer, retired