A few weeks
ago I was chosen along with three other undergraduate students to represent
Fordham at the 2013 United States Naval Academy Science and Engineering
Conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Over four days, 120
undergraduate students from 28 different colleges and universities participated
in this conference. The three focus
areas of this year’s conference were Renewable Energy and Alternative Fuels,
Cyber Space and Security, and Health and Sustainability. We attended lectures from guest speakers with
expertise in these areas, and we also heard from Dr. Arati Prabhakar, the
Director of Defense Advances Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Honorable G.
Wayne Clough, the 12th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and
the Honorable Kathryn D. Sullivan, the Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting NOAA Administrator.
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| Before the Secretary of the Smithsonian's presentation |
Each student
chose one of the three themes of the conference to focus on, and we were split
into small groups based on our choices.
Between the lectures, we met with our groups in order to discuss the
challenges associated with our specific topic.
We then isolated one particular challenge and created a presentation
about our proposed solution to that challenge.
I chose to focus on Health and Sustainability, and my group decided to address
waterborne illnesses in third-world countries. Our solution included a mobile health clinic
and an education center to train the locals in prevention and treatment techniques.
During
breaks between sessions, we were able to tour the Naval Academy and interact
with some of the Midshipmen. I especially
enjoyed watching Noon Formation, where all the Midshipmen line up before lunch. We also participated in a STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) challenge where we built a device to launch a
ping-pong ball at a target ten feet away.
My team tied for first place!
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| My team's catapult for the STEM challenge |
I had a
wonderful time at the Naval Academy, and I want to thank Fordham for covering my travel expenses so that I could attend this conference.
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| Noon Formation |
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| View from the window of an academic building |
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