The Navy is blowing the competition out of the water with another DoD SAQ win! WooHoo!

If you missed my earlier blogs on the DoD SAQ awards, we invite you to go back and learn more about our exceptional STEM advocates. 

That being said, I'm excited to introduce to you the FY20 Quarter 4 DoD SAQ Awardee, the Philly SeaGlide Team of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD). The team members include Mr. Adam Wechsler, Dr. Gregory Anderson, Mr. Jeffrey Merlino and Mr. Kyle Verrinder.

SeaGlide is a miniature underwater glider designed to be built by students. It moves by changing its buoyancy, taking in or expelling water. This change in buoyancy causes the glider to rise and sink in the water. As the glider travels up and down, its wings generate lift, which propels the glider forward. Full-scale underwater gliders deploy for months at a time to collect valuable data about the world’s oceans. While SeaGlide can't run for months at a time, it can collect temperature and pressure data as it flies through the water.

The Philly SeaGlide Team worked in partnership with the Greater Philadelphia SeaPearch and SeaGlide Challenge (https://robonation.org/programs/seaglide/) and created a competition challenge with two underwater courses. The team dedicated their time to train educators and students in underwater glider construction and programming. Through their hard work, the Philly SeaGlide Team reached 150 middle school and high school students and 200 educators and community members at 13 schools and community organizations from five states. This included students from backgrounds typically underrepresented in STEM fields, including all-female and all-black teams. In addition, approximately 180 high school students, 35 educators, and 70 community members attended the competition as spectators.

Adam, Gregory, Jeffrey, and Kyle connected with students and educators, inspiring the next generation with some really cool, real-world Naval challenges. Bravo Zulu to the Philly SeaGlide Team!