March 2, 2019

Summit Technology Academy teacher Paul Rutherford took a team of students from the Engineering, Design and Development (EDD) class to present their EDD Design Project and attend the awards ceremony at the Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri Chapter of the American Association of Professional Engineers (ASPE). Summit Technology Academy was the only EDD program represented at the event at the Downtown Kansas City Marriott. The students, Carson Palmer (LSWHS), Elijah Cook (LSWHS) and Brett Coleman (LSWHS), were able to visit with many professional engineers and university Schools of Engineering.

Their EDD project was the design and construction of a cane for a blind person that uses a sound/sonar-type device housed in the cane’s tip to detect obstructions. The device then signals the user by vibrations in the hand-held-portion of the cane. This team as well as six other EDD Design Teams will compete in the Annual KCSTEM Alliance EDD/Bio-Medical Competition on Tuesday, April 23, at Union Station. This event typically sees upwards of 300+ EDD & Bio-Medical students from a large portion of high schools throughout the KC Metro area. Many Kansas City and regional businesses and universities also attend the event to visit with students and teachers. Students often make important connections with both businesses and universities. For more information regarding the KCSTEM Alliance, go to their website at: https://www.kcstem.org.