The winning team.

A year-long engineering competition that challenged students from five Jewish day schools from throughout the tri-state area to design and build a remotely operated machine, culminated in June with a day-long event in which a team of students from Carmel Academy took first place trophy. The students participated in Carmel’s SET3 20.20 enrichment program that gives students real-life engineering insights and experiences. The program – which stands for “Science, Engineering, Teamwork, Technology and Training for the year 2020” – challenges students to solve a specific engineering problem that has a potential societal benefit. Carmel was invited last year by the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE) to take part in the pilot program. The winning 16-member team, coached by Megan Powell, a Carmel math teacher, designed and built a remotely operated emergency lift and construction system that could be used during an emergency at a nuclear facility.
“I hope this experience gives students confidence to pursue their interest in engineering and science in high school and beyond,” said Powell. “Their final product was part of a long process and there were plenty of ideas that didn’t work. I hope they also take away that perseverance and hard work does pay off.”