Tom Fulton, Kathleen Medill, Taylor Gierhan, and Natalie Schieuer represented Pius X in the global STEM competition called “SMART.” The quad competed as part of a physics project for their PACE (AP Physics) class taught by Mr. Jeremy Scheffler. The SMART Competition is a STEM and Career and Technology Education (CTE) education program that provides high school students with a practical real-world design challenge that addresses sustainability, green design, localized power generation, architecture, the environment and the community. The competition is open to all high school students who attend public, private, parochial, charter and home-based schools or participate in informal education programs.
Fulton, Medill, Gierhan, and Schieuer completed a winning task of redesigning a high school gymnasium. The design changes they implemented were planned to increase the overall reliability of the equipment and building systems while reducing the costs of operating their school of the future. According to Paul Wagner, a Bentley Systems Senior LEARNservices Consultant, “The student’s understanding of building information management (BIM) enabled them to make real improvements to the building and the campus that you might expect from more experienced designers.” In addition to team member awards, the school will receive a $500 donation to support its STEM and CTE programs from Bentley Systems.
