[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 52 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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          IOLANI SCHOOL REAL WORLD DESIGN CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I congratulate the six-member team 
from Iolani School for winning the national title in the U.S. 
Department of Energy's 2009 Real World Design Challenge, RWDC. The 
challenge is an annual competition that provides high school students 
with the opportunity to apply the lessons of the classroom to important 
energy and environment problems currently encountered in the 
engineering field. Iolani School's team placed first of 10 teams 
gathered from across the Nation in the competition finals held on March 
21, 2009 at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The theme 
for the 2009 challenge was ``Aviation and Fuel Consumption.''
  I wish to acknowledge the students' diligence, team work, and 
ingenuity in crafting their winning solution to this year's daunting 
challenge. Teams were provided detailed specifications and flight 
capabilities of an actual twin-engine jet aircraft. Teams were then 
asked to improve the aircraft's fuel efficiency without drastically 
reducing its load capacity. I wish to acknowledge all team members on 
their success: Amy Ko, Adeline Li, Anya Liao, Celia Ou, Jessica Lynn 
Saylors, Julia Zhang. Their parents and families are recognized as well 
for their commitment, sacrifice, and support that helped to encourage 
and instill the important values that led to their success.
  However, these young women could not have achieved what they have 
done without the additional support and knowledge of the fundamentals 
of science given to them by their coach, Dr. Carey Inouye. I commend 
Dr. Inouye and all of their teachers at Iolani School on their 
dedication to instructing, nourishing, and inspiring the next 
generation of scientists and engineers.
  I would also like to echo the comments made by U.S. Secretary of 
Energy Steven Chu, who said that this ``competition shows that U.S. 
students, when challenged to excel, are able to perform at the highest 
levels in science, math and engineering.'' I encourage these students 
to continue to study and follow their passions for science and 
engineering. I wish nothing but the best for the students, their 
families, and coach and wish them and the program continued success in 
future endeavors.

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