The News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Kathleen Holmay
March2, 1999 301-942-9595
SIX STUDENTS WIN FIRST AND SECOND PLACE PRIZES
IN DURACELL COMPETITION
- 100 Student Inventors Receive from $20,000 to $500 Savings Bonds -

(Washington, DC)......From a teaching tool that moves continents to an electronic pop-top opener, from a laptop security gadget to a color reader for the blind, from a new fire fighting safety tool to an outdoor strobe thermometer, the bright ideas of six students are being rewarded with first and second place honors in the 1999 Duracell/NSTA Scholarship Competition.Duracell and the National Science Teachers Association today announced first through fifth place winners who are
recipients of $160,000 in savings bonds in the 17th annual competition, the nation’s largest and oldest for middle school and high school inventors.
Over 1,900 students submitted photos and plans for 1,432 prototype entries in the 1999 Duracell. One-hundred were selected as finalists. In judging at Duracell headquarters last week, all 100 were awarded savings bonds ranging in value from $20,000 to $500. The six first and second place winners, accompanied by their sponsoring teachers and parents, will be honored in Boston on March 24 and 25 during the annual convention of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
First Place Winners
First place winner in the 10th through 12th grade category is Tom Kennedy, 17, a senior at Randolph High School and a resident of Randolph, New Jersey. He is receiving a $20,000 savings bond for the CoJack Laptop Computer Anti-Theft System. "Laptops are stolen at alarming rates," says Kennedy. "A thief can take a valuable computer even while the owner is nearby. CoJack draws attention to anyone tampering with a laptop. I got the idea when my parents asked what kind of computer I wanted for college. When I told them a laptop, they quickly answered, 'No,' saying it would get lost or stolen. The idea then formulated in my head like a snowball rolling down a hill." CoJack is a small, convenient anti-theft system. Its design could also be applied to protecting other valuables such as golf clubs, musical instruments and portable stereos. An important feature is that it turns itself on so the owner does not need to remember to arm it. Kennedy’s sponsoring teacher is George Collict.

The first place $20,000 savings bond winner in the 6th through 9th grade category is Iliana Jaatmaa, 13, an 8th grader at Walkersville Middle School who lives in Frederick, Maryland. Jaatmaa’s battery-operated invention is Pangaea, A World in Motion, a moving map and educational tool for children. A World in Motion shows the changes of Earth’s continents, from how they are today to a single large landmass, as Earth was 170 million years ago. "During this project I learned a lot about gear ratios, levers, and serial electrical circuits in addition to continental drift," Jaatmaa says. Her sponsoring teacher is Owen Davis.

Second Place Winners
In the 10th through 12 grade category, two second place $10,000 savings bonds are being awarded to Joel Even, 17,
a senior at Livermore High School and resident of Livermore, California, for Insight to Color, and Ben Byer, 18, a senior at
Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia, who lives in Annandale, for Temperature at a Glance.
A tool for visually-impaired persons, Insight to Color audibly communicates the primary colors of anything viewed
by its sensor. “The idea for Insight to Color originated during a talk with my father,” Even says. “ I thought about how
difficult it would be for someone my age to be dependent on someone else to tell him what to wear every day. Technology
should come to the rescue and help visually-impaired people color coordinate their clothing.” Even’s sponsoring teacher is
Nelson Fong.
Temperature at a Glance is a unique outdoor thermometer designed by Byer to be mounted on a tree or
fence and read from a distance. "TAG allows up to a three-
foot square image to be read from a distance while requiring
only a single light strip which is a few inches wide," says Byer.
The device projects a "ghost" image displaying the exact
temperature. The image of the numbers indicating the
temperature is seen by sweeping the eye across the display.
Byer’s sponsoring teacher is David Bell.
Second place winners of two $10,000 savings bonds in
the 6th through 9th grade category are Ashley Kling, 14, a 9th
grader at Springfield High School in Akron, Ohio, for the
Flashing Fireman’s Safety Boot, and Travis Fountain, 13,
an 8th grader at Ligon Gifted and Talented Middle School in
Raleigh and a resident of Cary, North Carolina, for the
Electric Soda Can Opener.
Kling’s mother and stepfather are fire-fighters and her
invention features bright flashing lights on the soles of fire
fighters boots. "Firemen often crawl to get beneath the
smoke. Because it's dark, I invented a way to illuminate the
exposed bottoms of firemen's boots. The bright flashing lights
will let fire fighters follow each other more closely making both
crawling and climbing ladders safer and faster," Kling says.
“Hopefully the Flashing Fireman’s Safety Boot will help
make fire fighting safer and save the lives of many courageous
fire fighters." Her teacher is Nicholas Frankovits.
Fountain’s Electric Soda Can Opener is useful for
people who don't have the dexterity or ability to open soft drink
cans -- and for those who want to have fun while they open
them. The user of this device simply pushes a can into a slot
and it is opened at the flip of a switch. “My grandmother
would like my device,” Fountain says, “because she has
arthritis.” His sponsoring teacher is Rita Hagevik.

The 17th Competition
In its17th year, the Duracell/NSTA Scholarship
Competition is also awarding ten third place $3,000 savings
bonds, 24 fourth place $1,000 bonds, and 60 fifth place $500
bonds. All 1,928 students who entered the 1999 competition
will receive a gift and a certificate of participation.
"The judges are surprised and gratified every year as
U.S. students keep coming up with creative ideas and useful
products,” says Arthur Eisenkraft, Ph.D., competition judging
chair. “We are especially pleased to see the quality of ideas
coming from our new category of 6th through 9th graders. The
Duracell shows that students learn science when they are
interested in solving practical problems.”

The Duracell
The Duracell/NSTA Scholarship Competition challenges
6th through 12th grade students to design and create battery-
powered devices which are educational, useful and
entertaining. Judging is based on creativity, practicality and
energy efficiency of each invention, and clarity of an
explanatory essay. Submissions are due at the NSTA in
January.
Sponsored by Duracell Inc. and administered by the
National Science Teachers Association, the Duracell/NSTA
Scholarship Competition has awarded over $990,000 in
scholarships, savings bonds, and cash awards to over 875
students since 1983. Student inventors retain all rights to their
devices.
As part of The Gillette Company, Duracell is the world’s
leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance
alkaline batteries. Duracell is headquartered in Bethel,
Connecticut.
The National Science Teachers Association has 53,000
members and is the largest organization in the world dedicated
to promoting excellence in science teaching and learning.

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Kathleen Holmay - 9607 Kingston Road - Kensington MD 20895-3521
Tel: 301-942-9595 - Fax: 301-942-2777 - Email: kholmay@deans.umd.edu
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