2024 AFRL Challenge Competition Awards Ceremony
Where: Griffiss Institute, 592 Hangar Rd. STE 200, Rome, NY 13441
When: Friday, April 26, 2024
Who: The AFRL Challenge Competition is an annual competitive STEM initiative for local high schoolers. Local community members are invited to the annual awards ceremony to celebrate the creative and innovative designs students create throughout the week.
Why: The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI) and Griffiss Institute bring the 2024 Annual Challenge Competition to the Innovare Advancement Center during the week of April 22-26, 2024.
The Challenge Competition is an annual competitive STEM initiative for local high school students. It is held during Spring break and intends to provide a more realistic view of the types of high-tech problems the nation faces today and how engineers and researchers dissect and solve these problems. Previous students described the week and its challenges as a “mental marathon,” and each team will be awarded scholarships through their respective NY 529 accounts.
The AFRL Challenge Competition gives many of the participants a new perspective on engineering and allows them to learn more about the work that takes place at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate and the Griffiss Institute.
Each high school team will consist of a teacher and up to two students. Each school selects the teacher and students who will be participating, and only one team per school is granted participation.
On Friday, April 26, 2024, competition judging begins at 8:30 am, followed by lunch for all participants at 11:30 am, and a poster session at 12:00pm. The awards ceremony is scheduled to begin at 12:30 pm; parents and local dignitaries are invited to celebrate our local students and their efforts.
.Media are invited to attend on Friday, April 26th, beginning at 12:00 am.
The seven area high school teams participating in the 2024 Challenge are as follows:Christian Brothers Academy
Teacher: Zac Schrecengost
Student 1: Declan Reed
Madison Oneida BOCES
Teacher: Michael Briggs
Student 1: Lincoln LeRoy
Student 2: Jane Cronizer
Waterville High School
Teacher: Wes Laurion
Student 1: Quinnlan Mayne
Student 2: Nathan Jones
Rome Free Academy
Teacher: Albert Bangs
Student 1: Ellis Pomales
Student 2: Alexander Rizzo
Whitesboro High School
Teacher: Stephen Costanza
Student 1: Dominic Marrero
Student 2: Daniel Kiszelewski
Westmoreland High School
Teacher: Nicholas Darrah
Student 1: Nathan Clough
Student 2: Ariana Malerba
Holland Patent High School
Teacher: Eric Hansen
Student 1: Nicole Santa Maria
Student 2: Heather Buchanan-Wise
This year’s AFRL Challenge Competition sponsors include Stewart’s Shops (Floyd Ave, Rome, NY), Mazzaferro’s Meats & Deli, Big Jays Pizza, LaRoma Pizza, Market 32, Hannaford, and Crust Kitchen.
Running parallel to the AFRL Challenge Competition, JROTC students from Proctor High School will participate in a Drone Camp culminating in Skydome at the Innovare Advancement Center on Friday, April 26, 2024, where the students fly drones in the afternoon. Media is invited to attend.
