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Eco-friendly and fuel-efficient cars built by high school and college students will compete this weekend at the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas 2012 in Houston. Students from 39 high schools and 46 universities from Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States will be participating in this year’s edition. Students from Syracuse are eager to once again participate.
Since 2009, Cicero-North Syracuse High School has represented Central New York in this competition—and they’ve done an excellent job. On their first race ever they got second place in the prototype hydrogen fuel cell category; then in 2010 and 2011, they earned first place. This means they met the competition’s goal of building “the most aerodynamic and fuel-efficient vehicle possible.”
That’s right: Around 10 high school pre-engineering students built a car from scratch and beat actual college engineering students not just from the United States, but also from the other Americas.
The students are part of the C-NS High School engineering club supervised by Martin Miner, technology and pre-engineering teacher. Each year they rebuild the car to improve it and make it more efficient. The process starts with the beginning of the school year: They take a couple of months for the design and planning, and then they start building right after the Christmas break to have it ready for the competition.
“The car we have this year, the basic frame and chassis are the same, the fuel cell is the same because that’s an expensive item at around $8,000, and the body design is the same,” said Miner. “But each year we make improvements and modify it to meet the needs. This year the hydrogen fuel cell car had to be stretched out a little longer because our drivers are a little taller than in previous years.”
The official rules for the prototypes indicate that the maximum height of the vehicle can’t exceed 100 centimeters (around 40 inches), the width must be less than 130 centimeters (about 51 inches), the length can’t be more than 350 centimeters (137 inches), and that the car must weigh less than 140 kilograms, or 308 pounds.
This year, the team decided to take it up a notch by building a second vehicle from scratch for the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas: a battery electric plug-in car. They used mostly scrap materials, old bikes and materials that companies in the area are discarding, according to Miner. But not everything can be found in the dumpster.
The main sponsor for the C-NS team is Carrier, whose donation got the team started back in 2009; they have been involved every year since. Carrier’s funds go for the car itself and the materials needed to build it, then the students go out and do some fundraising to sponsor their trip to the competition.
“It takes a lot of dedication to be in this group, we work a lot of hours,” said Michael Ann Baker. She joined the team as a sophomore and now, in her senior year, Baker has become the team manager and this year she will also be the driver.
“There are only 10 kids in this school that are in the club and not too many other high schools have anything like it,” she said. “Plus, other kids don’t get hands-on, actual applications of engineering until their junior and senior years of college, and I was doing it as a sophomore in high school.”
Besides the technical skills, the students learn how to identify, communicate and solve problems as a team. “It’s taking them beyond classroom learning and getting real practical hands-on experience about what engineering is,” Miner said. “It’s a little tough during the process because they don’t realize how much they’re learning from doing the problem-solving. Some of them didn’t even realize that there’s that much problem-solving in building something like a car from scratch.”
That was the biggest challenge for Nicholas Cifaratta, a junior participating on the project for the second consecutive year. He is the head mechanic for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. “I’ve always been the kind of person who doesn’t like to be told that they’re wrong or they did something wrong,” he said. So it was hard for him to adapt, accept suggestions and admit mistakes. “But, you know, that was all part of the learning process and now I don’t have that as much.”
For both Baker and Cifaratta, the experience has helped them discover their passion for engineering and motivated them to pursue it as a career. Baker will be going to Clarkson University for mechanical engineering, and Cifaratta is looking at automotive engineering programs.
The team also competes at the New York Electrathon, an electric car race that took place in the fall for which the students also have to build a completely separate vehicle. In all, they build three cars in a school year.
“I put so much time and effort into these things,” Ciafaratta noted. “It’s a sense of pride and a sense of accomplishment when I see them driving around and taking first and second place.”
—Veronica Magan
Waste Not
The amount of waste we generate each year is no joke and in spite of our best intentions, unfortunately not everything is recyclable. So, before you put those old magazines in the recycling bin or—if you’re a hoarder—find yourself buried in stuff, give creativity a chance. The Everson Museum of Art is offering three separate eco-friendly workshops led by graphic designer Whitney Daniels.
“I’ve always been a crafty person and can’t always afford to buy all the craft supplies so I started researching on blogs and websites to see what I could do with the stuff floating around my apartment,” she explained. “I sort of came up with inspiration and one thing led to another and I just started making everything I could out of what was around me.” Daniels will be sharing her crafty techniques to transform everyday items into helpful art that you can wear, hang or use around your home or office.
“It’s a one-day workshop, something that is fun and informal,” said Kimberly Griffiths, associate curator of education at the Everson. “Just come to the museum, hang out with your friends and make something that you can take home that day.”
The first workshop will be Saturday, March 31, and it will focus on creating wearable items. You will learn how to transform broken zippers, old T-shirts, magazines and other found objects into different styles of broaches, pins, necklaces, earrings and more items that can be worn.
Next will be a “hangables” workshop on Saturday, April 14, where you will learn how to make decorative art such as wreaths, frames and other ornament ideas. Finally, the “useables” workshop will be on Saturday, May 5. Here the focus will be on creating items such as bowls, magnets, coasters and planters, all using old recyclable stuff that’s sitting around your house.
Registration for each workshop is separate so you can pick and choose the one you’re most interested in. They all start at 10:30 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m.
“People are so busy and hyper-scheduled; {the workshops} are not a huge time commitment and it gives them the opportunity to get in touch with some creativity and explore something new,” said Sarah Massett, public relations director at the Everson. “Who knows, maybe they’ll become hooked and they’ll want to do it again on their own. At least they had that dedicated time to explore and have a lot of fun.”
The eco-friendly workshops are open to all ages, there is no previous experience needed and, just like every class at the Everson, 401 Harrison St., the materials are all included—although if you want to start getting rid of some of the stuff hanging around your place, you’re welcome to bring it with you.
“The education programs that we offer go hand in hand with our mission, which is to give people the possibility to have direct encounters with art,” Massett said. “That comes in many forms, it doesn’t only mean coming in and seeing what’s in the galleries, but having their own experiences with art making. It’s the perfect counterpart to the exhibitions.”
For the eco-friendly workshops, Daniels is already full of ideas and keeps getting new inspiration every day. “I’m always putting something together,” she said. “My thinking on my workshops is that I’m not necessarily trying to make them create what I tell them to, but more that I’m giving them skills to start off with so that they can go back to their house and look around them and say, ‘Hey, that’s cool, what can I make out of that?’ Just to get them to start thinking about things differently,” Daniels said.
If you want to get a glimpse of what you’ll be learning to make in the first workshop, take a look at her online catalog at wrkdesigns.etsy.com, or stop by the Szozda Gallery, 501 W. Fayette St., or Craft Chemistry, 745 N. Salina St., where Daniels sells eco-friendly jewelry.
So if you haven’t started your spring cleaning, give these workshops a chance; you might be surprised with what can to do with the stuff you thought was useless. The cost of each session is $15 for members of the Everson Museum and $20 for non-members. Preregistration is required. To sign up or learn more about the workshops, contact Kimberly Griffiths at kgriffiths@everson.org or 474 6064, Ext. 310.
—Veronica Magan
Net Losses, Net GainsThe score hasn’t changed—Ohio State 77, Syracuse 70—and right now, you’re probably still a little angry. At the officials for calling 29 fouls against the Orange. At SU senior Kris Joseph’s quiet 10 points and two rebounds. At Fab Melo—especially at Fab Melo—for being who-knows-where while freshman Rakeem Christmas and undernourished Baye Keita had to do battle with future NBAers Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas.
But give it some more time and you’ll smile when you think about the 2011-2012 SU men’s basketball team. In reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003, the Orange (34-3) compiled one of its best seasons with a perfect record at home (19-0), a school-record 34 wins, and a 17-1 Big East Conference record that had been equaled just once in league history.
And led by Joseph and fifth-year senior point guard Scoop Jardine, it was an extremely likable team. When Joseph and Jardine cried after the loss to Ohio State, we cried with them.
“The loss hurts, but me not playing with these guys for the rest of my life is going to hurt even more,” Jardine said after the Ohio State game. “These are like my brothers, and we came up short today, but for the most part I think we had a great season.”
As the anger turns into appreciation, thoughts will turn toward the 2012-2013 season and what the Orangemen can do for an encore. With next season in mind, here are five key questions (and some answers) that will determine our mood next November:
1. Will Dion Waiters join Fab and enter the NBA draft?
The 7-foot Melo, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, was declared ineligible for the second time this season two days before the NCAA Tournament started. The Orange went from Fab-less to fabulous in beating UNC Asheville, Kansas State and Wisconsin to advance to the Elite Eight, but they really missed Melo against Ohio State.
It’s likely Melo’s Syracuse career is over and he’ll enter this year’s NBA draft. The next question is if 6-4 sophomore guard Waiters will join him. Waiters, who won the Big East Sixth Man Award, ranked second to Joseph in scoring with 12.6 points per game in 24.1 minutes per game. He’s clearly an NBA talent, and he could become the first NBA first-round pick who played two years in college and never started one college game. The guess here is that Dion’s gone, a fact confirmed when Waiters announced just that on March 26.
2. With Fab out the door, will the Orange land top recruit Nerlens Noel?
Noel, a 6-10 center from Everett, Mass., who plays at the Tilton School in New Hampshire, has narrowed his choices to Syracuse, Kentucky and Georgetown. A close friend of Orange freshman guard Michael Carter-Williams, Noel is considered by many college basketball experts to be the top recruit in the Class of 2012.
The day before SU defeated Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 in Boston, the Orange coaching staff visited Noel’s family in Everett. Noel is a shot-blocking whiz who would fit nicely in the middle of SU’s zone defense, but the Orange are facing stiff competition. At Kentucky, he’d replace likely No. 1 NBA draft pick Anthony Davis. And at Georgetown, he’d join a long line of shot-blocking centers from Patrick Ewing to Roy Hibbert.
3. Any fallout from this year’s scandals?
SU assistant coach Bernie Fine, who was accused of sexual abuse by two former ball boys, was fired in November and he’s not coming back. The former ball boys, Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, sued Boeheim for slander in December over his public comments that they were liars and only out for money. Boeheim’s lawyers are trying to get the lawsuit dismissed. While that could get ugly if it goes to trial, the basketball program won’t be penalized by the NCAA.
Perhaps the thorniest issue is the Yahoo! Sports story that appeared on the eve of the Big East Tournament claiming that SU had violated its own drug policy by allowing players to keep playing after repeatedly testing positive. SU athletic director Daryl Gross said the university had self-reported the potential violations to the NCAA more than a year earlier.
Gross also said that no current players were involved. It’s never easy to figure out what the NCAA is going to do, but if SU did commit violations it’s possible the Orange will be penalized with a loss of scholarships or an NCAA Tournament ban.
4. Who will emerge in the offseason as the leaders to replace Joseph and Jardine?
Joseph, who was part of a school-record 119 victories in his four-year career, and Jardine (112 wins) are two of the winningest players in SU history. “They’ve just had an unbelievable career, really, these guys,” Boeheim said. “I don’t think you can give them enough credit for what Scoop and Kris have done.”
There are no obvious successors. Three-year starter Brandon Triche and James Southerland will be seniors, and while they’re both thoughtful and well-spoken, their personalities are more blend-in-the-background than in-your-face. Ditto for C.J. Fair (a junior next year) and Christmas (sophomore). Carter-Williams could assume a leadership role and Keita is a sleeper candidate, although his playing time will be reduced if Noel signs with SU and Jamesville-DeWitt High School star Dajuan Coleman gets significant minutes.
5. How’s the cupboard looking?
Far from bare. Three-point specialist Trevor Cooney, who was redshirted this season, will join Triche and Carter-Williams to form a strong backcourt.
Boeheim’s biggest task will be sorting out the frontcourt. Fair, Southerland and top recruit Jerami Grant can all play small forward or power forward. Christmas and Coleman can play power forward or center. Keita will back up at center, and if Noel signs he would likely start at center and shift Christmas and Coleman to power forward.
While it’s not a 34-3 team, next year’s Orange squad should be a Big East title contender and an NCAA Tournament team. Along the way, Boeheim will pass Bobby Knight and move into second place on the all-time Division I victory list, and the Orangemen will make their farewell tour around the Big East as it’s likely SU’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference will occur after next season.
—Matt Michael
Sound Education
Visitors to Great Northern Mall in Clay will have a pleasant surprise to brighten their shopping experience this weekend. On Saturday, March 31, the CNY Association of Music Teachers will be holding a fundraiser called “March Music at the Mall” from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be marathon music event for the entire day,” said Patricia Box, chair of the event. Several teachers from CNYAMT—comprising private instructors, schoolteachers and college professors—have signed up to take 30- to 60-minute slots for their studios or students to perform outside Old Navy and the Dress Barn in the Sears wing of the mall.
Box said mall visitors can expect a variety of instruments. Eight studios, each with 10 or more students, will perform, among them a violin group, a piano group, a viola group and a guitar group. She said the performance slots filled up within two weeks. “It lets me know the teachers are excited about it,” she noted. The students are also excited. “They can tell their friends they will be playing at the mall.”
She added that slots filled quickly because CNYAMT has a lot of competition-oriented events. “Not every musical student is ready for or enjoys that, so this is an opportunity for those students who do that as well as your average students, who may not enter competitions. It gives them a chance to perform publicly,” she said.
In addition to gaining performance experience at the fundraiser, students are encouraged to donate $5 (or $10 per family) with all proceeds going to the CNYAMT scholarship fund. Audience members are invited to make donations as well.
Up to $1,000 in scholarship money from the fund is awarded annually to one or two winners of the Scholarship Competition, a recital-like performance held on Friday, March 30. The winner of the competition has to be a senior in high school and going on to major in music in college. There is also a proposal under review by CNYAMT board members to provide scholarships to younger students to attend summer music camps held at various colleges and universities in the area.
Although this is the first time this event will be held at the mall, similar fundraising events in the past have been successful. Box, who used to work with a music organization in Arizona, said they tried a similar event there. “It was one of our best fundraisers,” she noted.
In DeWitt, the group held a fundraising event at Barnes and Noble Bookstore in early December. Studios performed, and a portion of the sales that day went to CNYAMT, with more than $1,000 raised. This upcoming event might fare better, as there are no expenses—such as piano tuning or moving—associated with it. Mall management donated the space, and the Piano & Organ Center, a mall tenant, has donated the use of two digital pianos and an organ.
Bella Beletsky-Shik, a piano teacher and member of CNYAMT, will have eight of her 15 students perform at the event, playing a variety of genres of music, ranging from classical pieces to more modern ones. “I pick based on the stage of development,” she said, adding that her students try to select pieces they haven’t yet mastered.
Beletsky-Shik signed up her studio because her students love to perform and the performance is special for students. “It is the environment for them. People are shopping, interested in the playing,” she said, adding that the atmosphere is more festive, and less formal, than class recitals.
She hopes her students will be satisfied with their own playing, and that the audience will like them. “Every time we have the opportunity to perform somewhere, I want them to have a positive experience. Not all students will go on to be a professional musician, but this positive experience they can take anywhere in their life,” she said.
Box agreed. Playing an instrument, she said, is “something they can enjoy for the rest of their lives.” She acknowledged that a small percentage of students go on to major in music in college, but more learn to give back to their community by using their talents. “I think it will be an event to look forward to again,” she added.
Great Northern Mall is located at 4155 Route 31, Clay. For more information, call Patricia Box at 409-4785.
—Sarah Loguidice
Kid Trouble
Don’t have enough sorrow in your life after the Orangemen’s exit from the NCAA Tournament? Don’t sweat it! Syracuse Opera is holding open auditions for the role of Sorrow in Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Monday, April 2, 4 to 6 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church, 232 E. Onondaga St.
“Sorrow” (also known as Trouble, or “Dolore” in Italian) is the 3-year-old of Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), the lead in the opera. Sorrow appears in acts 2 and 3 in the opera, and the role doesn’t require singing or speaking. The opera is looking for children ages 6 to 9, and either boys or girls may audition.
“We’re looking for a specific type of look. They have to be comfortable being on stage,” said Michael Heagerty, the opera’s communications manager. “There are big bright lights and it’s a large theater. It is partly about finding a child who is comfortable on stage.”
The role will involve substantial stage time and interacting with the environment, added Heagerty. He or she will have to be able to play with toys set out for them without being distracted, and will have to get used to being coddled or hugged by the lead roles, their “parents.”
The auditions will involve watching the children interact with toys and the environment. “Do they have the ability to continually hang out and play with a toy and not be too disruptive?” said Heagerty. He also said the child will have to be able to be quiet because the role is non-speaking.
He suggested that children who like being on stage should audition, and the child will have to attend mandatory rehearsals. “This is a large undertaking,” he said. “The child would have to want to be in the role.”
Madama Butterfly is the story of the reunion of Cio-Cio San and her American husband, Lt. Pinkerton, after his three-year absence from Japan. Syracuse Opera stages it April 20 and 22. For more information, call 475-5915 or visit www.syracuseopera.com.
—Sarah Loguidice
