Competition team members Asharay Hood, Maurice Sharpe and Johnny Wilder have been working with the MAS group for the last three to four months on their entry to the National Engineers Week Future City Competition.  To enter this competition students must design a computer generation of a city on Sim City 3000 Ultimate, write an essay and abstract about their city, design and build a 30 inch by 60 inch model of the city (with at least one moving part) and do a verbal presentation of their city to a panel of engineers.

The competition team will represent the Milwaukee Region against thirty-eight other regions at the Engineers Week National Future City Competition in Washington, DC during the third week in February. Besides winning first place and the all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC, the team also won best essay ($500 savings bonds for the team members), “Most Futuristic City” award, “Best Manufacturing Zone” award and the “Peer Award”, being selected by other participants as the best model in the
competition.

The team was sponsored by We Energies and Greg Schroeder, an engineer at We Energies, assisted with the project.   Mrs. Lois Noble, 8th grade science teacher at MAS, was the teacher coordinator for the project.   Mrs. Murphy (grade 6), Mr. Noble (Baymont Inns & Suites volunteer), Mrs. Wehmeier (Science Director at MAS), Mr. Wehmeier (engineer at We Energies), Mrs. Manske (former MAS teacher) and Mr. Manske (computer engineer) worked with the team.

The focus of the competition was “How Plastics Can Make the Lives of Senior Citizen Better”.   The students explained that Corona Borealis was a haven for seniors because it has a hybrid plastic Juvitron Pod that allows the seniors to travel the world via a fullerene plastic “Space Elevator”.  Seniors live in circular plastic dwellings on the pod so that they can see the world without leaving home.  Innovative plastics also cover and warm the city, replace organs and joints, and are involved in the transportation system and the city’s infrastructure.

To prepare for the competition, the students, who are involved in
Marquette Univeristy’s Health Career Opportunity Program, met with a geriatric specialist at Marquette to learn about the sensory and mobility limitations brought on by aging.  The students then brainstormed futuristic solutions to these problems.  One of the more creative ideas is a cochlear implant that not only allows the seniors to hear, but also does audible language translation and perfoms medical monitoring.  Another interesting development in Corona Borealis is the Food Fast Hydroponics and Vermiculture Center which cultivates vegetables without soil and grows worms for protein source.  The vegetables have flavor enhancers for the
seniors and the worms are genetically altered to taste like any currently used protein source.

The Regional Future City Competition is sponsored by The Engineers and Scientists of Milwaukee.  This is the tenth year the group has sponsored the competition.  National Engineers Week Future City Competition is in its twelfth year of competition.  Winners at the national level attend Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama and are eligible for many other prizes.