MHS Aeronautical Dolphins wins first place again in nat’l contest

The CNMI Aeronautical Dolphins of MHS represented the Pacific territories of the CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa when they won the State Real World Design Challenge earlier this April 2015. On Sunday, they presented their National Real World Design Challenge via teleconference and received word of their victory on Monday morning.

The winning team consists of junior and senior students: project manager Ann Margaret Norcio, mission planner Matthew Cao, project mathematician Masrur Alam, marketing specialist Edna Nisola, simulations engineer Jun Young Kim, and design engineer Robert Malate. They were led by MHS mathematics teacher and coach John Raulerson, with team collaboration between professionals in aero-structures, aero-dynamics, mechanical engineering, and pilot industries.

In a statement, acting governor Ralph DLG Torres said it is great joy to see CNMI students compete and represent the CNMI in national competitions.

“For these students to come back home with a national award against some of the nation’s best and brightest students really exemplifies how great they are,” Torres said.

“This is the second time in three years they have achieved this, and it is a testament to their hard work and the time their teachers dedicated to them. …The success of the MHS Aeronautical Dolphins serve as a reminder that the development of the STEM fields in the education of our students is a worthwhile endeavor that will foster benefits for our islands as these bright young students drive our economy in the future,” Torres said.

This year’s National Real World Design Challenge was to design an unmanned aircraft system capable of targeted dispersal of fluid pesticide across two co-located crop areas with a constant wind speed of 11 knots coming from the west. The design process included three phases, with the students starting work in April of this year.

Norcio stated that the onslaught of storms and Typhoon Soudelor as well as the breakdown of the undersea fiber optic cable forced them to work longer hours to make up for lost time.

Luckily, she said, they were able to reach out to the MangoSix Restaurant and Douglas Brennan of Atkins Kroll for Internet access and support.

Norcio explains that the unmanned aircraft system, which they named the Skywalker, produces extremely coarse droplets suitable for wind speeds of up to 20 mph using an extending spray broom that compensates for any geographical variables on a crop field of sweet potatoes. With this system, the team was able to do a cost analysis that equaled up to $15.5 million in net cash flow after five years of use.

According to Raulerson, “we modified a light support aircraft which is called a foxbat into a sprayer. We sprayed precision agriculture which means we only spray on affected areas from light to high infestation.”

He says that the aircraft is flown using software that was designed by the students. “It’s a lot of hard work. We spent everyday designing. It’s a one-year project and this is our second time to win the national championship,” he said.

Raulerson shared that only two airplanes were built and displayed in Washington, D.C. during the national competition, which included the first design they won in 2013.

According to Norcio and Cao, they are still in disbelief about their win. “We are still taking it in. It hasn’t hit us yet,” they said.

“This is a big thing for a small rock in the middle of the Pacific against these states. It’s a major win. It was a team effort,” Raulerson said. “It’s hard work and endurance that allowed them to prevail and come this far.”

This second win for the CNMI’s Aeronautical Dolphins is an added accomplishment to their consistent wins in the State Real World Design Challenge since the began participating in 2012.

The RWDC state competition is coordinated by the CNMI Public School System whose state coordinator is Jeaniffer Cubangbang.

The 2015 CNMI mentors consist of Manoj Rahematpura of Pratt & Whitney, Capt. Christina Hart Mastracchio of Andersen Air Force Base, Donald Clayburn of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., Douglas Brennan of Atkins Kroll Toyota, Dave Swartz of the Federal Aviation Administration, and Emory Frink.

In 2012, the CNMI won the Against All Odds Award in the national competition in Washington, D.C. In 2013, they won first place in the National Real World Design Competition. The 2013 National Competition winners consisted of Jill Ann Arada, Clariza Magat, Stephanie Xiao, Cecilia Huixin Xu, John Paul Aglubat, and Jessica Bigueras.

The Aeronautical Dolphins said that Brennan also hosted the CNMI team competition’s presentation at Atkins Kroll. They also lauded the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport for allowing the use of their facilities so that the team’s research could continue during the recovery efforts.

For more information about the Real World Design Challenge, visit www.realworlddesignchallenge.org. (With Dennis B. Chan)