Althea and Bryan

Aubrie, Aengy and Amanda

Carl and Felix

Dustin and Julian

Hector and Eric

Nancy and Daniel

Sandesh and Ravi

Thien and Jacob

Two hundred fifty students from Portland high schools and middle schools converged on Portland State University Friday, May 11, to tackle the challenges of creating simple wind power devices.

The occasion was MESA Day, an annual event at the PSU campus for Oregon MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement). MESA is an outreach program of PSU’s  Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science that engages students from underserved schools in hands-on technical projects. MESA Day is the year-end competition among MESA students to display and demonstrate their long-term projects.

One high school and one middle school team each year is selected to participate in a national competition.  The national team members chosen from Friday’s event are:
•    Franklin High School, team members Bin Chen and Karen Tiet.
•    Poynter Middle School, team members Daniela Pedraza, Teralyn Putney, Carissa Alexander, Nicole Van Schijndel.

The Oregon winners will compete with teams from other MESA organizations in Seattle, June 22 through 24.

PSU’s MESA program is unique in the country in its focus on invention education to solve problems in developing countries.  The Portland-based Lemelson Foundation recently announced it will grant Oregon MESA $216,000 over the next three years. Part of the grant will be used to form a curriculum that follows Oregon MESA’s invention emphasis and disseminates it to the other eight MESA programs in the United States.

The Lemelson Foundation and Intel were sponsors of this year’s MESA day.

Students involved in Oregon MESA focus on “human-centered design” to solve problems for people in developing countries. This year’s central theme was wind energy.  Students were given the challenge to invent wind-powered devices that could move objects, lift weights and generate electricity.  Next year’s challenge will be to invent an inexpensive prosthetic arm for possible use by victims of land mine explosions in war-torn countries such as Afghanistan.

“These are designs for the other 90 percent,” said Justin Stenkamp, a volunteer at MESA Day from PAE Consulting Engineers, noting that most commercial designs are out of financial reach for people in poor countries.  “The work of these students speaks to our company’s passion for sustainability,” he said.

Other volunteering organizations at the event included Luma Lighting Design, the Bonneville Power Administration and the Bureau of Land Management.

A major goal of MESA is to increase the number of engineers and other technical professionals in the United States, which faces an engineering gap compared with other countries. It also promotes pre-college educational success. On average, 97 percent of MESA students enroll in a post-secondary educational institution.

“We believe in the power of invention to change lives.  Kids need opportunities to engage in problems and apply their knowledge in a hands-on way,’ said Tak Kendrick, of the Lemelson Foundation.

About Portland State University (PSU)
Located in Portland, Oregon, PSU has nearly 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. PSU’s motto is “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” and we provide every student with opportunities to work with businesses, schools and organizations on real-world projects. Our downtown campus exhibits PSU’s commitment to sustainability with green buildings, while sustainability is incorporated into much of the curriculum.

About The Lemelson Foundation
The Lemelson Foundation works to inspire and enable the next generation of inventors and invention-based enterprises in order to build a stronger US economy and create social and economic change for the poor in developing countries.  For more information, visit http://lemelson.org.

About Intel
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom. Intel Oregon is Intel’s largest and most comprehensive site in the world. Additional information about Intel Oregon is available at www.intel.com/community/oregon.

Photo by Steve Dipaola

(Portland, OR) – The Portland-based Lemelson Foundation has announced it will grant $216,000 over the next three years to Oregon MESA, a program based at Portland State University (PSU) that connects underserved middle school and high school students with University faculty to foster excitement about college and careers in science and engineering.

MESA, a national organization, stands for Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement.  It provides after-school programs that teach hands-on skills through real-world projects. The goal is to help create the next generation of innovators.

PSU’s program is unique in the country in its focus on invention education to solve problems in developing countries.  Part of The Lemelson Foundation grant will be used to form a curriculum that follows Oregon MESA’s invention emphasis and disseminates it to the other eight MESA programs throughout the United States.

“MESA is a leader for Oregon in invention education, and that is why the foundation is supporting our work,” said David Coronado, MESA’s executive director at PSU.  The program is housed at PSU’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Students involved in Oregon MESA focus on “human-centered design” to solve problems for people in developing countries. They’ve worked on projects ranging from water transportation and filtration to solar cooking.  They will soon address the problem of infant mortality.

“We’re excited by our work with Oregon MESA and how they connect to our mission to support inventors and invention-based enterprises that improve lives in the US and developing countries. The students get to apply their math, engineering, and science concepts in new ways to develop solutions to today’s problems,” said Dorothy Lemelson, president and board chair of The Lemelson Foundation.

Other companies and organizations involved with science and invention are partnering with MESA. One example is D-Rev, a nonprofit technology incubator. It shared its design process with Oregon MESA faculty and students.  Now, through the newly designed curriculum made possible by The Lemelson Foundation grant, MESA students across the U.S. will develop a prosthetic arm that could be used in places such as Afghanistan where civilians are often injured by land mines.

“These kids not only are getting critical thinking skills.  They are also getting a broad world view,” Coronado said.

The Lemelson Foundation, established by inventor Jerome Lemelson, has provided financial support to Oregon MESA for more than six years, including $192,000 over the last three.

About Portland State University (PSU)
Located in Portland, Oregon, PSU has about 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. PSU’s motto is “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” and we provide every student with opportunities to work with businesses, schools and organizations on real-world projects. Our downtown campus exhibits PSU’s commitment to sustainability with green buildings, while sustainability is incorporated into much of the curriculum.

About The Lemelson Foundation

Established by prolific independent inventor Jerome Lemelson, The Lemelson Foundation is a private philanthropy committed to recognizing and supporting inventors and invention-based enterprises to improve lives, both in the US and in developing countries.  It has donated or committed more than $150 million to supporting a pipeline of inventors, inventions and invention-based enterprises that can lead to job creation and a strengthened US economy as well as solve social, environmental and economic problems for the poorest populations in developing countries. The Foundation also works to strengthen the ecosystem that supports inspiring and educating inventors while also helping them to translate their ideas into inventions with impact. For more information, please visit http://www.lemelson.org.

Some of the activities included learning how a computer thinks via CS Unpluggled, dissecting a computer, and creating a computer program via Scratch.

June 29, 2011

Seattle, WA – 33,573.  That is the number of MESA middle and high school students throughout the country that began their journey to be a part of the MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition.  Of those, the top 2%, sixty-six students, represented their state in Seattle, Washington.  The Oregon delegation consisted of Thien Nguyen, Simon Nguyen, Jennifer Pedro-Miguel, Mike Mengistu, Cody Croydon, Fletcher Hazlehurst.

Each team brought their “A” game, creating a highly spirited competitive event.  Each team competed in several areas including: windmill performance, technical paper, poster presentation and an oral presentation.   Each activity was judged by members of faculty and industry representatives.

“It was tense at times,” said Tamara DePue, Program Coordinator for MESA.  Students were up late each night in Seattle rehearsing their talks and adjusting their windmills.  It was not uncommon to see students running up and down the hallways late at night with box fans and tool kits as they prepared for the next day’s competition.

Microsoft hosted the performance part of the event on Saturday, June 25.  “It was great for students to be on the campus of one of the world’s leading technology companies. It really provides them perspective on where they can be later in life,” said David Coronado, Executive Director of MESA.

Overall, the team did not leave with the gleaming three foot first place trophy all the students eyed with delight.  At the end of the day, the high school team took first place in their oral presentation and the middle school team took second in the same category.  While they did not leave with a trophy, the images in their minds of being a part of a student group that competed at this high level will outlast the plastic and metal.

MESA Day Awards Slide Show
See images of the award winners.

Lightspeed Technologies Slide Show
MESA Day 2011 Volunteer Sponsor

Luma and PAE Consulting Engineers Slide Show
MESA Day 2011 Volunteer Sponsor

SAVE THE DATE:
MESA DAY 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Portland State University

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Portland, Oregon -The sounds of windmills whirling mixed in with the sounds of pause and excitement filled the Smith Memorial Union Ballroom at Portland State University on Friday, May 13.  Over 380 students participated in MESA Day, an annual culminating event for Oregon MESA.  It is a celebration of students’ innovation, hard work, and interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.  Students competed in a variety of activities including Earthquake Disaster, Mathmazing Race, Parachute Drop, and the MESA USA National Wind Energy Challenge.  Each year, MESA selects a middle and high school team who compete in the Wind Energy Challenge to represent Oregon at the MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition in June 2011.  Each qualifying team must test their windmill, present a technical presentation and submit a paper on their device.  MESA’s new 2011 Wind Energy National Team members are: Ockley Green School – Thien Nguyen, Simon Nguyen, Jennifer Pedro-Miguel;Franklin High School-Mike Mengistu, Cody Croydon,Fletcher Hazlehurst.

Thein Nguyen is returning to the MESA USA National Engineering Competition to uphold his previous glories.  Thein participated in the National Competition in 2009 taking first place and in 2010 taking second place. While the rest of his previous team members have graduated from Ockley Green School, he continues to be a part of new winning teams. The Nguyen family is a multi-generation MESA family with his brother preceding him in MESA.  Thien will graduate from the 8^th grade this year.

The National Teams will compete in Seattle, Washington for four days of stiff competition from the other MESA states at the end of June.

Anchor MESA Day Sponsors:

Company Volunteer Sponsors:

February 18, 2011
Hillsboro, Oregon – President Obama visited Intel today to highlight the need to invest in research, development, and most importantly,  science education.  He described the need to start young and invest in education in order to remain globally competitive.  As he spoke, four students from MESA eagerly listened to his speech.

Invited by Intel, MESA was invited to select four Hillsboro MESA students, Adrienne Hetke, Alicia Vergara, Victor Garcia-Flores , Monica Gonzales to attend this momentous occasion.

“It was a great honor for Intel to invite us,” said David Coronado, Executive Director of Oregon MESA.  “Intel has had a long standing relationship with MESA.  Our program is effective because we have support from organizations like Intel who understand the need to educate our youth in order to remain an innovative country.”

Ironically, Victor Garcia-Flores an 8th grader, is supposed to give a report on the Executive Branch in his social studies class next week.  “Now I know what power is, “said Garcia-Flores.

President Obama says he wants to focus “like a laser” on improving education. He said the quality of a nation’s education is one of the biggest predictors of a nation’s success.

Oregon MESA was proud to be invited as a participant in this national conversation.  “Oregon has been at this since 1989. It is great to be recognized for the work MESA does both in Oregon and in seven other states,” said Coronado.

View the entire Obama speech and see our students here.

View Student You Tube Video of President

MESA’s Accessing Opportunities for Success Through MESA project will engage students through the following grant activities: 1) replicating the MESA program in three middle schools in the Portland metro region, 2) engaging families in college and career pathways discussions, and 3) providing youth with positive role models through the MESA Mentoring Program. The Oregon MESA program has a strong track record of students participating in post-secondary education, which they accomplish through a holistic approach of intervention efforts.

“A college education is important to helping students improve their lives, as well as those around them.  By empowering students and their families with the information and tools they need to achieve a college degree, each has an opportunity to, in a number of our families, break cycles of poverty,” said David Coronado, Executive Director of Oregon MESA.

MESA will partner with the Parkrose School District and Portland Public Schools’ Harriet Tubman Young Women’s Academy and Cesar Chavez School to deliver the programming to students. Besides the $35,000 provided by the grant, MESA will be providing an additional $69,772 in matching funding to run the program.

Stephanie Carnahan, director of college access programs for the Oregon University System, said, “There is a great need in Oregon for pre-college programs that help students and families understand how to access college in a comprehensive way, from academic preparation to understanding how financial aid works. The Accessing Opportunities for Success Through MESA project is a great example of the type of support that all Oregon students need in order to ensure that they can access college and be academically and otherwise prepared to succeed in their education and career goals.”

The College Access Challenge Grant Program (CACGP) is a formula grant program that is designed to foster partnerships among Federal, State and local government entities and philanthropic organizations to significantly increase the number of underrepresented students who enter and remain in postsecondary education. CACGP provides grants to States to meet the needs of underrepresented students and families. In Oregon, all education sectors and the Governor’s Office are involved in the CACGP, and the Oregon University System is the fiscal agent for the grant.