The University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, in partnership with The Global Challenge, LLC, has been awarded a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $891,000 for the Global Challenge, a project whose goal is to help U.S. high school students, through collaboration with their international counterparts, strengthen skills in math, science, engineering and critical thinking, while learning about global business practices.

The project will partner U.S. students ages 14-17 with high school students from around the world in teams of four. Students will submit project proposals — ideas for technologies that address real-world problems using engineering, mathematics and physics — which will be evaluated for commercial viability. A total of 40 $1000 scholarships will be awarded to the winners.

The idea for the Global Challenge proposal came from Craig DeLuca, co-founder and a director of The Arno Group, LLC in Stowe, VT. "We need a global perspective to address global problems," DeLuca explains, "so I decided to challenge American high school students to tackle issues confronting the globe, to work in teams with teenagers in countries that will be our most profound partners in the years ahead, and to learn advanced math and science and have fun doing it." DeLuca obtained results from a pilot program with high school students from Stowe High School, People's Academy and counterpart schools in India and China.

"Engineering is a rewarding career with important social relevance," says Domenico Grasso, dean of UVM's College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS). In explaining the importance of a project such as the Global Challenge, Grasso points out author Thomas Friedman's observation in The World is Flat. "The flatter the world gets," Friedman says, "the more important it is [that] kids develop a global perspective to problem solving and a global network of colleagues to collaborate with on solving their problems."

Grasso and Josie Herrera, director of Diversity and Special Programs as well as one of the principal investigators of the project, will work with Dr. David Gibson, an adjunct professor in CEMS. According to Gibson, "we have a real opportunity to create technological solutions to global issues, [such as] global warming, world hunger, energy issues and clean water."

For more information regarding the Global Challenge, see "More than 1000 High School Students Launch Engineering Challenge" or visit www.globalchallengeaward.org or contact David Gibson at david.gibson@globalchallengeaward.org.