Ellis Engineering Students Win Design Competition
Engineering Design students in grades 11 and 12 won first place for their “Hair Up!” entry in the regional Student Design Competition sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research Lab (HERL) as an extension of their Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. Competing against a dozen local high schools, students applied their engineering design skills to research and create a prototype that solved a real-world problem.
This year’s competition challenged students to create a device that assists an individual living with a disability to carry out an everyday task. Two teams of Ellis students designed prototypes and went head-to-head in an internal competition to determine which group would represent the School at the regional competition. After careful consideration, a panel made up of Ellis faculty and staff selected the “Hair Up!” prototype by Laurel Conover, Class of 2018, Maddie Daily, Class of 2017, Maya Ginter-Frankovitch, Class of 2018, and Angie Scheuermann, Class of 2018, as the final contender.
The “Hair Up!” product would allow an individual who had lost the use of their hands to put their hair up into a ponytail. This award-winning idea was refined by students through brainstorming sessions with careful consideration to the client problem statement and discovery. After working through three initial designs, the Ellis team utilized the 3D printer to fabricate a final prototype that allowed the user to put their hair up hands-free while standing. The team then submitted a poster that outlined the stages of their design process and a video that showcased the final prototype to judges who crowned their prototype as the regional division winner.
Jennifer Boughner, Director of Development, judged the preliminary competition at Ellis and was incredibly impressed with the students’ work. Boughner said, “during my undergraduate career at Carnegie Mellon University, I participated in industrial design courses with similar assignments. Ellis students are working at and above the level of college courses and are doing so with comprehensive consideration and amazing self-confidence. Designing practical solutions to real-world challenges is so crucial, and I am proud to be apart of a community that places value on active learning and design thinking.”
The competition awarded each Ellis student a scholarship towards an iD Tech camp at Carnegie Mellon University this summer. Some of the available options include camps on coding in Java or Python, as well as opportunities to dig deeper into 3D modeling and 3D printing.
The Engineering Design elective at Ellis merges concepts from STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) fields and challenges students to produce original ideas, test and craft prototypes, and communicate results. This project-based course and competition exposes students to major concepts encountered in university engineering courses, and further develops problem-solving skills driven by solutions to various real-world challenges.
At Ellis, faculty utilizes design thinking methods to encourage girls to inquire, define, and address real problems affecting people’s lives. Through hands-on interpretation, research, and analysis, students learn to articulate problems, troubleshoot, and find solutions. This exposure to experiential learning prepares students for the complex and dynamic world that awaits them after graduation.
Envision Her at Ellis
If you're interested in exploring Ellis for your daughter, let's connect! Request information about enrollment, attend one of our upcoming events, or hear about Ellis from those who know it best: our students.
