Queensland high school students will be reaching for the stars next week at UQ.
Up to 100 students from 10 different high schools from throughout Queensland will take part in the annual Australian Space Design Competition from January 20 – 22, 2009.
The competition, hosted by UQ’s School of Information Technology & Electrical Engineering (ITEE), involves four teams of students assuming it is the year 2058, and then preparing and presenting a tender response to a request to design and build a settlement in space suitable to accommodate up to 5000 humans.
ASDC chairman Mr Mark Shaw said teams must address issues in their space settlement design such as structural design, operational requirements, human factors, automation, IT and business initiatives.
“The three-day competition involves students from many different backgrounds and schools working collaboratively in order to solve space settlement issues and ultimately win the chance to visit the USA and compete on an international scale,” Mr Shaw said.
“Prior to the competition, students must submit a lengthy written proposal for assessment by the ASDC committee which outlines the scope of their project and addresses their individual thinking behind solving space settlement issues.
“Based on this submission, students are then chosen to compete in the Australian segment of the competition."
ITEE Head of School, Professor Paul Bailes, said the event allowed high school students to communicate in a group, demonstrate teamwork, work on projects and showcase their ideas and futuristic inventions.
“The event will give industry, other students and the public the opportunity to meet the innovators of the future and discover how life and space settlements might become evolve in the future,” he said.
The Australian Space Design Competition is open to the public on Wednesday, January 21, from 10am – 2pm in building 78 (GP South) at UQ's St Lucia campus.
For more information visit www.ausspacedeisgn.org.au
Media: Steve Forster, ITEE Marketing & Communications Manager (3365 2392, email: s.forster@uq.edu.au).
