Waltham, MA, October 16, 2007 — Gann Academy was
awarded a $5,000 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grant to invent the Weight-Stabilizing
Compact Stretcher. The technical aspects of the device incorporate
the variable sizes, materials, and maneuverability over various terrains. Gann
Academy was one of 16 high schools nationwide to be selected as an InvenTeam
this year.
With high schools facing tighter budgets and reduced funding for extracurricular
programs, Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams provides inspiration and resources to
encourage high school students to identify a real-world problem and work
collaboratively to invest a solution to it. Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams
is a premier national grants initiative that enhances science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) education by offering students a comprehensive,
self-directed invention experience.
“Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams embraces and fuels students’ passions
for science, technology, engineering and math,” said Leigh Estabrooks,
the Lemelson-MIT Program’s InvenTeams grants officer. “It
motivates high school students to pursue those passions in college, and
potential explore careers in those fields. InvenTeams also helps
students develop essential professional skills, including teamwork, project
management, presentation and leadership.”
Dr. David Novick, Science Department Chair at Gann Academy, completed
the InvenTeams application process last spring. This fall, a prestigious
panel of judges composed of educators and researchers from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and Harvard University; representatives from industry;
MIT staff and alumni; and, former Lemelson-MIT award winners selected Gann
Academy as one of this years’ InvenTeams.
Describe proposal/invention in two or three sentences
Gann Academy InvenTeam will spend the next eight months developing their
Weight-Stabilizing Compact Stretcher. In the spring, Gann Academy’s
InvenTeam will showcase their invention at the InvenTeams Odyssey at MIT
in Cambridge. This year, the InvenTeams Odyssey will be part of the
Lemelson-MIT Program’s EurekaFest, which brings together prominent
inventors, students and the Greater Boston community for a weeklong celebration
of the inventive spirit.
Founded in 1997, Gann Academy is a pluralistic Jewish high school with
309 students located on a 20-acre campus in Waltham, Massachusetts. |
