June 18, 2007
Gann Academy sophomores, Benjamin
Deardorff and Benjamin Jaeger, won Boston University’s 2007 Engineering
Design Competition’s coveted trophy for “Best Performing Freshman
Design.” Public and private schools from around the area sponsored
teams, comprised of two students, that built a robotic vehicle that had
to perform a specified set of tasks. Deardorff and Jaeger’s
accomplishment was the culmination of many hours of work outside class
and in addition to their course requirements. They not only built
the vehicle, but also they built a replica of the track that can now be
used for future Gann teams to practice with their prototypes in years to
come.
This is the second time Gann Academy students have distinguished themselves
in engineering design competitions. In February of this year, the
Gann team, also comprised of senior, Oren Mangoubi, in addition to Deardorff
and Jaeger, was the only team from Massachusetts to advance to the final
round of the National 2006/2007 JWOD/JETS Engineering Design Challenge
held in Washington, DC. Dr. David Novick, Science Department Chair,
is the team’s advisor.
Founded in 1997, Gann Academy is a pluralistic Jewish high school with
309 students located on a 20-acre campus in Waltham, Massachusetts. |
