Massachusetts Real World Design Challenge Partnership Ceremony

As we headed into the first weekend of spring, a team of Newburyport High School (NHS) students were heading to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national level competition for the Real World Design Challenge (RWDC). The NHS team headed to the nationals with the state title under their belt and their technical designs and presentations in hand.

The RWDC state challenge
“Real world” is at the core of the RWDC. RWDC presents participants with a real world problem facing a specific industry today and needing a real world solution. As in the real world, there are deadlines to meet and protocols to follow. The RWDC requires the establishment of a real world collaborative work environment with designated roles and responsibilities allocated across the student team, and the assignment of a faculty coach for team support. RWDC calls for the teams to use real world Computer Aided Design (CAD) Engineering software for their design development and simulation testing. Teams are judged in a real world work forum on both the technical merits of their design and performance results, as well as on their ability to communicate and market their proposed design as a viable, real world solution to a multi-disciplined board.

NHS mobilized an “A” team to step up to the first annual RWDC challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE selected “Aviation and Fuel Consumption” as the theme for this first of its kind competition. Engineers from Cessna Corporation and Parametric Technologies Corporation (PTC) of Newton, MA designed the challenge and the specific parameters. The challenge handed out in mid November, 2008 to participating high school teams was “to redesign an existing aircraft to improve its fuel efficiency without drastically reducing its performance capabilities”. More specifically, the design requirements for this initial state level challenge called for “an economical twin-engine jet that met assigned cruise and stall speed requirements of 400 knots at 37,000 feet and stall less than or equal to 130 knots at 15,500 feet.”

The NHS team
The NHS team was comprised of 5 seniors (Thayer Adsit, Philip Arets, Irene Jacqz, Travis Souther and Tom Svirsky) and 2 freshmen (Belle Douglass and Molly Picillo). NHS technology teacher, Sarah Leadbeater, served as the team’s coach. According to Sarah Leadbeater, the seniors were recruited because of “their consistently, heavy involvement with NHS’ technology studies throughout their high school careers”. The freshmen were recruited because of “the serious interest they’d already demonstrated and our desire to entice them to stay involved with technology studies throughout their high school years”.




From November, 2008 through January, 2009, the NHS team worked diligently building their models and performing their simulation testing. Using a professional, web-based collaboration tool, the team could call upon volunteer mentors from DOE national laboratories, universities and industry for scientific and engineering advice as needed. The team also used the same engineering software used by Cessna engineers every day in performing their professional engineering work. According to team coach, Sarah Leadbeater, “the simulation software presented one of the bigger challenges for the team to overcome. We built the models but after 12-14 hours of simulation testing, the software would crash due to insufficient data.” In the end, the team locked themselves away in one location for a marathon weekend and addressed the various problems in time to submit their design by the end of January deadline.

Judging the state competition
There were 65 design entries submitted across 10 states, i.e., Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Design entries for this initial state level challenge were judged at the state level.

In Massachusetts, professionals from the Aeronautics Department of the Massachusetts’ Institute of Technology (MIT) were recruited to judge the state’s design entries and to select the top team to represent Massachusetts at the RWDC national competition in March.

The MIT judges went to work reviewing design entries from 13 registered teams across 7 Massachusetts High Schools. When the judges tallied their scores in mid February, it was our very own NHS team who walked away with the title of top team for Massachusetts!

Moving onto the nationals
Just as in the real world, the RWDC competition did not allow much time for the state top team’s to rest on their laurels. By February 22, the RWDC presented the 10 state championship teams with its national challenge adding “several components to the original aviation design challenge”. NHS coach Leadbeater explained the next round design requirements. “The design must reduce the drag on a transonic aircraft flying at 5.5 mach and 37,000 feet.”

The national RWDC competition also requires the team to develop and deliver a marketing presentation at the nationals in Washington, D.C.

The timeframe for delivering the advanced design was tightened to one month with national design entries due by end of day, March 18.

The NHS team went to work immediately on their advanced design. They are demonstrating a real world work ethic dedicating every weekend to designing the solution which they hope will catapult them to the top at the D.C. nationals

Accolades and Send Off for NHS at 2B2
On March 18, the NHS took time out from the national challenge to take part in the Massachusetts RWDC Partnership Ceremony hosted at Plum Island Airport.

Our 2B2 hangar provided a welcoming venue and relevant backdrop for the line up of speakers from state and local government, federal and state aviation agencies, and Newburyport High School.



The Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission (MAC) was prominent in its roles both at the award ceremony and with the RWDC competition. Christopher Willenborg, MAC’s Executive Director emceed the event and presented the awards. MAC Commissioner, Arthur Allen, highlighted relevant history about Plum Island Airport and then congratulated the NHS team on their hard work and state championship. After acknowledging Steven Rawding, the head of MAC’s Aviation Planning for his support of the RWDC, it was announced that Steve would be accompanying the NHS team to the D.C. nationals. Fran Favara, Director of Engines and Propellers for the New England Region, added in praise and best wishes from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)


Government recognition of the NHS team came first in the form of a letter from Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray. It was followed by congratulatory remarks by Fred Lucy, staffer to State Representative Michael Costello, State Senator Steve Baddour, and Newburyport Mayor John Moak.

NHS spirit echoed in the accolades bestowed on the student/teacher team first by Steven Smith, NHS Technology Chairman, and then by NHS Principal Michael Parent. In acknowledgement of NHS’ first place finish in the state competition, NHS has an RWDC trophy to add to its trophy case and $500 to go towards classroom needs.


A thunderous round of applause from the 50+ person crowd greeted first the faculty coach and then each of the students as she/he stepped up to the podium to receive an individual certificate of recognition. It was the pride behind the applause which reverberated most loudly throughout the 2B2 hangar. It was a pride felt most keenly by the parents, family and faculty present in the audience. It was a pride also shared by the state and local officials, several 2B2 volunteers and members of the Newburyport and surrounding communities who came out on a beautiful but blustery winter day to say “GOOD JOB and GOOD LUCK IN THE NATIONALS” to an impressive group of high school students and their dedicated teacher coach.

Following a lunch provided by the Massachusetts Airport Management Association, the NHS student/teacher team and faculty led the way to 2B2’s Burgess Historical Museum. Here, they were greeted and given a personalized tour by Ted Russell, 2B2’s resident historian and volunteer museum curator, and Charlie Eaton, museum volunteer and airplane model craftsman.

Other 2B2 volunteers including Billy Pfeiffer, Bill Caswell, and Dave O'Donnell, went to work dismantling the public ceremony podium and seating they’d helped set up hours earlier. The 2B2 Hangar once again reverted back to Plum Island Aerodrome’s “working museum”.

Special thanks go out to Alex Hasapis, Board Member and Public Relations Director, for communicating and coordinating the day’s events with key players from MAC, NHS, Plum Island Aerodrome, Inc. and the 2B2 volunteer network.

Final thanks go out to Steve Noyes, President of Plum Island Aerodrome, Inc. and Airport Manager, for suspending his restoration work temporarily to open up the hangar for the MA RWDC Partnership Ceremony and to give our NHS state champions a great send off to the RWDC nationals in Washington, D.C.

Check out our upcoming blog entry for the results of the RWDC national competition.