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Student group hoping to install wind turbine
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Neighbors | Submitted.This winning robot was built by Victoria Shobel, Mark Tareshawty, Kyle Thompson, Alex Tareshawty, John Powell and Nancy Soliman and won first place at NEOREP..Other competitors were Alex Nischwitz, George Hoeferlin, Colin Solomon, Michael Messuri, Taylor Gorski and Tod Moore.
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Neighbors | Submitted.In addition to the windmill project, JETS has also been involved in other activities this year, such as the Northeast Ohio Robotics Education Program Competition..The student-built robots won several awards.
By EMILY GIANETTI
With traditional energy prices soaring, one group of students at Canfield High School is trying to take matters into their own hands.
The school’s Junior Engineering Technical Society — JETS — has begun developing a plan to help in the coming years — the plan to install a wind turbine at the high school.
As a group largely focused on technology and science and its application in real life, JETS has been studying the feasibility of putting a wind turbine on school grounds.
According to club adviser and teacher Don Crum, nothing has been pushed beyond understanding for two years, but the plan may come to fruition soon. JETS has been collaborating with college student Jarrad Scacchetti in order to obtain grants and to collect data on where the wind turbine would be placed.
Scacchetti, along with high school senior and club member Mark Tareshawty, plans to take data for three months over the summer to decide on the best place for the windmill. Then, once the club obtains the money and selects the location, it can hire a company to install the windmill.
Tareshawty believes it will be money well spent.
“You look at the energy consumption, how much energy it’s going to produce and how much it’s going to cost. I’ve been told that it pays itself off in a few years,” he explained.
The largest wind turbines produce enough electricity to continuously power approximately 600 U.S. homes. Even the smallest turbines, often set up in backyards, can still power a single home.
“It’ll benefit the school directly by saving them costs. It’ll benefit the school also because the JETS members were a part of it,” said Scacchetti. “You have students who are willing to go above and beyond the normal standardized test stuff.”
JETS also examines another aspect of new technology — robots. On March 15, students competed at the 2011 Northeast Ohio Robotics Education Program Competition held at Youngstown State University, in which students must program robots to carry out tasks in an arena.
One of Canfield’s teams, consisting of Victoria Shobel, Mark Tareshawty, Kyle Thompson, Alex Tareshawty, John Powell and Nancy Soliman, won first place. Members Alex Nischwitz, George Hoeferlin, Colin Solomon, Michael Messuri, Taylor Gorski and Tod Moore also competed.
The club has other areas it teaches students about during the year as well. Bridge building, rockets, medieval weapon building, and green energy are all activities students do during the year.
According to Crum, JETS is “designed to enhance students’ exposure to engineering and technology and their practical application.”