Downers Grove South High School senior students Dillon Kohls, Aaron Marrs and Krishna Patel earned first place against 23 teams in the 2021 Chicago Regional Engineering Design and Development Showcase.
The students created a “speed bump prototype” to help deter drivers from speeding in school zones, running stop signs and in areas where there are frequent traffic complaints. They created a portable speed bump that uses laser velocity sensors to detect the speed of the incoming car. For example, if the car is traveling over 10 miles per hour, the camera takes a picture of the license plate, which is recorded and stored in a database. The students predict the portable system could deter traffic offenders.
“I’m incredibly proud of Dillon, Aaron and Krishna for being recognized for their hard work and dedication to their engineering project,“ says Brandy Palmerin, South High School Career and Technical Education teacher. “I was impressed by their passion for this project from conception to completion.”
The Chicago Regional Engineering Design and Development competition is an opportunity for Project Lead the Way students to showcase their year-long project. These projects consist of students working in teams to identify a real-world challenge, followed by months of research with engineering, business professionals, educators and other professionals to develop the best solution for their problem. Students then designed and built a prototype and tested their solution.
This year, students virtually presented their projects to a panel of engineers who provided feedback and judged their work.
To learn more about Project Lead the Way, click here. To learn more about the competition and the award winners, view the showcase presentation here.