PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS >  BROWSE

Five Students are Named Finalists in the 18th Annual Duracell Invention Challenge

February 29, 2000
Five students have been named finalists in a national competition that challenges students to design and build battery-powered devices. The five had their inventions place among 100 finalists during preliminary judging of the 1,436 entries in the 18th Annual Duracell/National Science Teachers Association Invention Challenge.

Montgomery County Public Schools finalists and their inventions are:

  • Tara Howard, eighth grade, Eastern Middle School, The Baby Soother 2000

  • Elizabeth Barnwell, senior, Richard Montgomery High School, Hemodialysis Access Fluid Movement Absence Alert System Tech

  • Samantha Lockwood, junior, Montgomery Blair High School, Laser-Sighting Height Measuring Device

  • Emily Nalven and Maria Stoica, juniors, Montgomery Blair High School, Automated Child Safety Gate.

    The five students entered the competition by designing and building working devices that are educational, useful or entertaining and powered by one or more Duracell batteries. Judging was based on creativity, practicality and energy efficiency of the invention, as well as clarity of the written description.

    The local students' inventions were among 50 finalists each in the grades 6-9 and 10-12 categories. The finalists in each of the two categories will now compete for one first-place $20,000 U.S. savings bond, two second place $10,000 bonds, five third-place $3,000 bonds and 12 fourth-place $1,000 bonds. The remaining 30 fifth-place winners in each category will receive $500 bonds.

    Winners will be announced in early March.

  • <<Back to browse