New Project Lead the Way Logo

Today, Mr. Gallagher showed all the InvenTeam members the new Project Lead the Way logo that he had received in an email. I worked on taking the graphic of this logo and pasting it into Autodesk Inventor so that I can make a 3D logo along with the coaster that Mr. Gallagher had already made. Then, I put the logo and coaster cutout on a laser template in order to cut the coasters out and inscribe the logo into the wood of the coaster. We plan to take these Project Lead the Way coasters with us to Austin to raffle off to people who sign up on our blog. We also put together video files for each InvenTeam member where they discuss the impact that Project Lead the Way has had on their lives. Many InvenTeam members were staying after school late to finish these videos up while KC Bianco finished the syringe robot to take to Austin.

Read More

Today is a very stressful day in the classroom as the InvenTeam is preparing for the trip to Austin. Even with the stress, some InvenTeam members found time to contribute to the tutoring program that was set up for Project Lead the Way students. Tristan DeJesus is working with freshman on their Introduction to Engineering & Design projects. In the meantime, Mackenzie Knight is working on creating a poster with every InvenTeam member's name, contact information, and picture on it to bring to Texas. Hopefully, people we meet in Austin will contact our members with potential questions, suggestions, or ideas. Furthermore, the 3D models that the Computer Integrated Manufacturing classes built and put together are carefully being packed into boxes with bubble wrap to prevent them from breaking.

Read More

Pressing for Austin

With the Austin Trip only a week away, most of the groups have put aside their projects for time being to get ready for the Project Lead the Way symposium. Some InvenTeam members have finished up making brochures on Microsoft Publisher about the past InvenTeam projects that have received national recognition. They printed and folded 100 of these while other InvenTeam members worked on finishing up the Project Lead the Way posters that we are going to bring to Austin. We had a few problems with the printer so we had edit some of the posters and reprint them. Also, KC Bianco finished using the laser cutter to cut out the two syringe robots. He is currently bending the plastic and putting them together so we can have more examples of projects that we have done in Project Lead the Way.

Read More

Getting Ready for the Austin Trip

Chris Carter sat and talked about his experiences with the Project Lead the Way program. He is currently working as a Civil Engineer.

From the left: Nick Florin, Tom Corona, KC Bianco, Chad Baker, Tristan DeJesus, and Mackenzie Knight.

Today, several members of the InvenTeam woke up early on a Saturday morning to come to the high-school to finish some things up to prepare for the Austin trip. We met with past Project Lead the Way student and R.P.I. graduate Chris Carter to catch his memories of PLTW and his thoughts on the program on camera. Also, we each talked about a Project Lead the Way class offered at our high-school on camera. We plan to show these videos at the PLTW symposium in Austin, Texas. While some students were working on the videos, other InvenTeam members worked on cutting the laptop holders out with a laser cutter and bending them in order to sell them in the future as a fundraiser. Finally, KC Bianco worked on cutting the parts to a syringe robot out in order to put two together to bring to Austin.

Read More

Today, our class worked on finishing up the rendered videos of all the InvenTeam members that we plan to take to Austin, Texas with us. Also, past Project Lead the Way students Tom Hayes and Juliana Wakeman stopped by so they can share their thoughts on the program. Both students, who are currently enrolled at W.P.I., talked about how Project Lead the Way has helped them decide what they want to do for the rest of their life and how it has helped them get a jump start on their careers. Also, Mr. Gallagher brought in the button-down shirts that he is going to get embroidered with the Project Lead the Way logo for the InvenTeam members travelling to Austin with him. In terms of the InvenTeam members' projects, the team working on the Wind Power Assisted Device is researching programs that they can use to simulate wind tunnels and determine pressure and wind resistance values based on a 3D model that they use. Also, the members working on The Guardian have gained access to the class notes that the actual Java class is working on at our high-school, and is working with Tom Hayes on learning the language.

Read More

New Grant Money

Today, a member of the group working on The Guardian, Chad Baker, announced that he has recieved a two-hundred dollar grant from Environmental Design Partnership located out of Clifton Park, New York. This money will go a long way for all six class projects which are for the most part, past the stages of research and looking to start purchasing materials to build their prototypes. Of the groups in this stage of the design process, the Wind Power Assistance Device group is looking to purchase materials to construct a wind tunnel to test wind resistance as well as DC motors to turn the wind energy into electrical energy. The group working on the Emergency Vehicle alerter is focusing on purchasing electronic components such as wires, transmitters, LED light bulbs, and sound chips that they will use to build their prototype. InvenTeam members working on The Guardian are working hard after school and during class on learning the Java programming language and are looking to purchase research materials while the group working on the Shower Temperature Control unit is looking to purchase logic analyzers to control the digital functions of the unit. Finally, some group members are diverging from their projects temporarily in order to create multiple models of a syringe robot that they plan to take to Austin, Texas to present at the PLTW symposium as well as to present at the Saratoga Springs High School during First Night.

Read More