On Saturday, April 23, 2016 a Green Innovator’s Expo addressing this year’s grand challenge of clean energy will take place as part of the 8th Annual Iron Range Earth Fest in Mountain Iron. The Expo is a presented jointly by the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability (IRPS) and the Range Engineering Council (REC).
To learn more we spoke with Moe Benda, Director of the Iron Range UMD Graduate Engineering Education Program.
What’s the idea behind the Expo?
Moe Benda: On the Range there are 120,000 homes using an average of 10,000 kWh each every year. 75% of this energy currently comes from coal, the remainder from solar, natural gas, wind and hydro. The Green Innovator’s Expo is challenging folks on the Range to reduce their reliance on non-renewable resources by reducing electricity consumption and by discovering innovative ways to generate and store electricity. This year’s challenge came from the National Academy of Engineering’s 14 Grand Challenges. This one specifically is to “make solar energy economical” and we’ve expanded this to include the usage and storage side of all green energy. This also ties in the three core tenets of IRPS: Community, Economy and Environment. Our goal with this Expo is tap into the creativity and ingenuity of our areas youth while exposing their minds and talents to challenges facing our community, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Who can participate?
Moe Benda: Innovations should focus on energy conservation and efficiency, renewable energy, and/or energy storage. Ideas should follow the theme of “green” innovation—making the Earth, our community, and the economy a better place. There will be three levels for participating (4th-6th grades, 7th-9th grades, and 10th-12th grades) with first, second, and third place awards for each level. Judging will occur on Saturday, April 23rd from 10am-Noon. All entries must have a form postmarked on or before April 2nd, 2016. All entries must have an informational poster for the idea as well asaA small-scale model of the idea or a prototype.
Are there other programs on the Range promoting STEM?
Moe Benda: The partnership of Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability (IRPS) and the Range Engineering Council (REC) makes sense to facilitate this effort. The REC is working with area schools, primarily 5th and 6th grades through their Engineering, Cool! Program and their Innovation Mentoring program. The Engineering, Cool! Program is in Hibbing, Chisholm, and Virginia with each weekly after school program having approximately 30 students at each location. The Innovation Mentoring program is teacher dependent and has been with 4th and 5th grade students where Scientists (Professional and college Engineers) work with student teams to help them develop their ideas into a practical and cool looking model or prototype. Teachers set this up with me, and I coordinate three sessions with their classes. The REC not only awards the students—last year, the school that had the most entrants received STEM Equipment for their class room. Last year’s winner, Roosevelt Elementary 5th grade, chose iPad microscopes.
Click here to learn more about the Expo >>
