ASCENT 2019
February 21-22
With the overarching theme of "Problems of the far future", our ASCENT 2019 conference was a blast! Our modules for this conference were: Transportation, Natural Disasters, Debate and Shark Tank. It was incredibly fulfilling to see all the high school students working through the problems, coming up with extremely innovative solutions, some great debate points and clever bridge and car designs.
TRANSPORTATION
Humans are constantly trying to find ways to make their lives easier. One of these aspects that we are constantly remodeling is transportation. In this module, students were asked to design a car that they deem as the most efficient in terms of traveling. Our judge was Dr. Ata Khan, a professor in transportation engineering at Carleton University.
DEBATE
Students discussed and presented their opinions about controversial STEM related topics. The topic this year was: how far should we take artificial intelligence, keeping in mind the benefits and detriments that come with it? Our judge was Olivier Brandts-Longtin, who is majoring in Translational and Molecular Medicine.
NATURAL DISASTERS
Millions of people get displaced by natural disasters each year. Consequently, we have to design infrastructure that not only works for the citizens of today, but the citizens of tomorrow as well. This module challenged the students to design a cost-effective and sturdy wooden bridge. Our judge was Dr. Ghasan Doudak, an associate professor of structural engineering at the University of Ottawa.
SHARK TANK (BUSINESS PITCH)
Entrepreneurship can pioneer more sustainable, environmentally-conscious products. In this module, students came up with a proposal for a new sustainable product they would like to develop. Our judges were Dr. Kevin Brand, Dr. Wadid Lamine and Dr. David Crick, all professors at the University of Ottawa.
