[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 74 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE PIPER HIGH ROCKETRY TEAM ON QUALIFYING FOR THE 2016 
                              TARC FINALS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2016

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the members 
of the Piper High School Rocketry Team from Broward County, Florida and 
their advisor on qualifying for the 2016 Team America Rocketry 
Challenge (TARC) Finals, being held this weekend in The Plains, 
Virginia. Piper High School is one of only 100 teams from across the 
United States to qualify.
  In order to qualify for this event, the Piper High School team had to 
design a rocket capable of flying to an altitude of 850 feet with a 
flight duration of 44 to 46 seconds, while carrying two raw eggs and 
return them to Earth uncracked. To make this more difficult, this year 
the eggs had to be placed perpendicular to each other in the rocket, 
complicating rocket body design.
  TARC is the world's largest student rocket contest--approximately 
5,000 students participate each year. The competition gives middle and 
high school students a chance to pursue further study and careers in 
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and is a 
critical piece of the aerospace and defense industry's strategy to 
build a stronger workforce development pipeline.
  It is important to recognize not only the achievement of the Piper 
High School Team in qualifying for the TARC finals, but also the 
interest and drive that makes these young people want to participate in 
STEM oriented extracurricular activities, so I want to personally 
recognize each of them here today: Joseph Callahan, Shaun Cochrane, 
Jared Eckert, Adam Husein, Amit Lalchan, and Benjamin Liang. I also 
want to thank their advisor, Mr. Walter Weidler, for inspiring the 
interest of these students in science and engineering. It is educators 
like Mr. Weidler who are responsible for keeping America at the 
forefront of technology.
  Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud of these students, and of all of 
the students in Florida and the United States who are engaged in STEM 
education. They represent the future of this great nation.

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