MONROEVILLE, PA /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company announced the 2007–08 winners of its N-Visioning a Brighter Future grant program, which awards funding to middle and high schools for creative, hands- on projects.
Administered by the company's speakers bureau, N-Vision, the grant program is designed to encourage both teachers and students to develop projects based on energy, math, science or technology.
The competition is open to all middle and high schools where Westinghouse has a presence. Five schools are awarded $1,000 each to carry out their proposed projects. Winners of the 2007–08 grants are:
- Bloomfield High School, Bloomfield, CT: An 11th grade chemistry project, "Nuclear Medicine," will help students develop an understanding of nuclear chemistry through classroom activities, lab work and interactive simulations. The students will apply the knowledge they have gained as they research career opportunities within the nuclear field.
- McKeesport High School, McKeesport, PA: The "Green With Envy" project will look at two different energy sources that can lower carbon dioxide emissions: nuclear power and solar power. Students will tour a nuclear power plant, assemble solar panels to run a filter for a classroom pond, and attend a field trip to learn about "green" buildings.
- Seneca Valley Intermediate High School, Harmony, PA: Students in 10th grade honors chemistry and algebra will participate in the project, "Radioactive Decay: An Interdisciplinary Approach." Lessons will include collecting experimental data on radioactive decay, determining the half-life of an isotope both algebraically and graphically, and comparing the results of the two methods.
- Sharpsville Area Middle School, Sharpsville, PA: In the "Heat of Fusion: I'm Melting, I'm Melting" project, students will conduct an experiment to determine how much heat is needed to melt one gram of ice. They will learn to use a temperature probe/sensor to gather data, and will prepare a lab report that explains their findings.
- Yough High School, Herminie, PA: Students will measure radon in the lowest level of their homes as part of the project, "Radiation From the Ground Up!" They will use maps and geological data to determine if radon levels are related to the location of the structures, and also conduct research on remediation strategies.
Westinghouse, a group company of Toshiba Corporation, is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse technology today is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants.