SourceAmerica Design Challenge Announces High School and Collegiate Winners of Annual Engineering Competition

Vienna, Va. — Duke University placed first in the SourceAmerica College Design Challenge, a national engineering competition to address employment issues faced by individuals with disabilities. Concord High School of Wilmington, Delaware, won the high school division of the challenge.

Duke's multidisciplinary team was recognized for its innovative device called Hanging with DECI. The team worked with Durham Exchange Club Industries (DECI) to modify two work tasks― straightening wire hangers and opening pill bottles―to minimize the need for complex movement and evaluation skills. Three devices were designed and built: a hanger straightener and two bottle openers. All three devices showed improvements in productivity and made the jobs accessible to those who were not previously able to perform the tasks.

Concord High's multidisciplinary team was recognized for its innovative device The Scan 'n Sort, a barcode scanning device that alphabetically categorizes recycled medicine making sorting in pharmacies easy for employees with disabilities.

This year's winners also included:

College Division:

2^nd Place: California State University, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
Nonprofit partner: MVLE (Springfield, Virginia)
Project: Be All You Can Be

3^rd Place: Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon)
Nonprofit partner: Willamette Valley Rehabilitation Center (Lebanon, Oregon)
Project: The Pencil Packager

High School Division:

2^nd Place: Poolesville High School (Poolesville, Maryland)
Nonprofit partner: Sunflower Bakery (Gaithersburg, Maryland)
Project: The Change Maker

3^rd Place: Gardner Edgerton High School (Gardner, Kansas)
Nonprofit partner: Johnson County Developmental Supports (Lenexa, Kansas)
Project: CAPS

4^th Place: Copley High School(Copley, Ohio)
Nonprofit partner: Weaver Industries ProPak (Akron, Ohio)
Project: The Fomo Nozzle Production and Packaging System

5^th Place: Indianapolis Metropolitan High School (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Nonprofit partner: Goodwill Commercial Services (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Project: K.I.T.

"Through the dedicated work of students, coaches and nonprofit partners, the Design Challenge has a tremendous impact on communities,” said Charissa Garcia, Design Challenge coordinator. “We are addressing employment issues in a multi-faceted manner; the tools enhance employment success for those with disabilities, the projects help the students become better engineers and conscious employees, and the whole program showcases what can be accomplished when we work together.”

For more information, contact Charissa Garcia at cgarcia@sourceamerica.org or 703-584-3940. Visit http://www.sourceamerica.org/design-challenge and follow SourceAmerica on Facebook and Twitter.