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Mativo

For the past three years, several teams of high school students from across Georgia have participated in the annual Tests of Engineering, Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science competition hosted by the University of Georgia in February.

This year, participating high schools have an opportunity to earn one of three Northrop Grumman Scholarships to cover the $125 registration fee for the daylong learning experience on the UGA campus.

TEAMS brings math and science to life for students, fostering creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving, said John Mativo, an assistant professor in the College of Education’s department of workforce education, leadership, and social foundations and a member of the UGA Faculty of Engineering, who is co-directing the competition.

The competition features high school students participating in teams of four to eight members, using real-world applications of math and science to solve some of today’s greatest engineering challenges. The TEAMS 2012 theme is “Engineering Healthier Lives.”

 Participating teams seeking one of the Northrop Grumman Scholarships are required to register for the competition through the TEAMS website (http://teams.tsaweb.org/teams/index.html) and indicating that the host is UGA.

To earn a scholarship, a team must write a paragraph of approximately 500 words on why it should be considered for the scholarship. The application should be emailed to Mativo at jmativo@uga.edu by Jan. 10, 2012.  Teams will be notified by January 13 if they are awarded the scholarship.

The competition benefits students by showing them why math and science matters in the real world.  Its academic rigor challenges students with new academic topics and presents new ideas. In addition, participants get inside information about college admissions and could win great prizes, said Mativo.

Last year, participating teams from Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology; Heritage High School; and Mountain View High School brought 28 students for competition.

Mativo is co-directing the competition with Chi Thai, an associate professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering and member of the faculty of engineering, and assisted by Nancy Vandergrift, a program coordinator with the Office of STEM Education.

More than 10,000 students across the country participate in TEAMS competitions. UGA is one of two sites hosting the competition in Georgia.  The other site is the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

In August, TEAMS was acquired by the Technology Student Association. TEAMS competition site sponsors include: Bechtel Group Foundation, S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Shell, and Tyco Electronics.