Governor’s Real World Design Challenge Kick-off
Museum of Flight, Seattle
October 11, 2008

 I am extremely pleased to be here today, to announce the kick-off the Governor’s Real World Design Challenge. Washington is one of ten states to participate in this pilot program to educate and allow our students to tackle a real-life design challenge.  

While Governor Gregoire could not be here today, I would like to assure you that she is in support of this challenge and it is a part of her tremendous commitment toward advancing excellence in our schools. 

In this challenge teams of Washington students will be asked to examine how the four forces of nature – gravity, lift, drag and thrust – can impact the design of an airplane. They will do this with an eye toward enhancing fuel efficiency. 

This is not only an incredible opportunity for Washington’s youth, but also an example of the power of partnership between private industry, government and educational institutions. Together they will help erect an exciting new educational foundation that may inspire even more kids about choosing careers related to science, technology, engineering and math (known as STEM education).  

The challenge also offers a great resource to Washington high school teachers. It’s a long-term investment in our educators – each teacher will receive almost $ 1 million in professional engineering software for use with their students. In so doing, the teachers will help to expand the STEM pipeline of students needed to build workforce in the state.

 I would like to give kudos and thanks to the US Department of Energy for being the prime government sponsor. The DOE, together with the Federal Aviation Administration, has joined with the Parametric Technology Corporation to not only enhance our high schools’ STEM education, but to give young people the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.  

What a great way to inspire our youth’s creativity and demonstrate to them how important ingenuity is in the workplace.   

I would also like to thank Gene Wachtel with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for his support in coordinating teacher training and for all of the support that OSPI has given the project to date. 

Not only do the high-school students get to work on a real life design problem, but they have the prospect of going to Washington, D.C. for the national competition and chance of winning the grand prize, and even more importantly, the possibility that their breakthrough might change the future of aviation. Anything is possible when it comes to these kinds of competitions. What a wonderful thing it would be if a team of Washington high school students gets us further along in solving our energy challenges.  

My sincere hope is that it will be a Washington team whose successful design not only wins the competition, but is innovative enough to be actually adopted by the aircraft industry. 

The Dept. of Energy has good motivation for sponsoring this challenge. They need a workforce with real world experience.  By providing an opportunity for students to pursue aerospace engineering-related careers while they’re still in high school, the students will be better prepared for a competitive workforce and DOE is developing its pool of future recruits.

It is our hope that this competition, which we hope to engage in annually, will incite new interest and draw more attention within these crucial areas.  I am aware of the workforce challenges, particularly in the aviation industry, through my work on the workforce subcommittee of the Aerospace States Association and through my work with Washington companies and the state Legislature.

 I look forward to sharing with my lt. governor colleagues though the ASA, the positive approach we are undertaking here and other states through the Governor’s Real World Design Challenge!

 Another reason I’m excited about the Challenge is the process. While working with their teacher and other students on a team, they will be collaborating online with industry experts from the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Energy National Laboratories, industry and higher education. As the industry experts coach the team members, answering questions, tackling issues, they are providing an incredibly high level of mentoring for the students. As some of you know, mentoring is a subject very close to my heart.

The reason why is because mentoring works. There is research that demonstrates that mentoring is an effective strategy for helping children overcome the inevitable challenges that life presents them. And it works for all youth, including the bright students who will be part of this program.

 I have had the pleasure of serving as co-chair of Washington State Mentors since 2004. So I am very pleased about the mentoring component of the Governor’s Challenge and am confident mentoring will contribute greatly to its success.

 These are challenging, competitive times and our youth and our schools need all of the tools and help that we can muster to succeed and grow in our global marketplace.  We believe that with partnerships such as the one we are announcing now we can step up to this challenge and accelerate more quickly into the future.

Thank you.