Norwalk-La Mirada Unified high school students competed against 15 other Los Angeles County student engineer teams on April 1 at John Glenn High School to develop original blueprints and a marketing line for lightweight headphones during the 2017 Chevron Design Challenge.

John Glenn High students developed solar-powered headphones that would charge throughout the day; Norwalk High students designed headphones for runners; and La Mirada High students added voice recognition to their headphones.

“This was a great competition and I’m just happy to be here,” La Mirada senior Jason Malooly said. “It was a great learning experience that will benefit all of us in the months and years to come.”

The aspiring engineers used concepts and skills they’ve learned through their Project Lead The Way (PLTW) pathway programs to follow design brief specifications and constraints, which included rechargeable lithium batteries, user controls and comfortable fit.

The competitors decided on a target audience for the headphones, raw materials, features and final manufacturing cost.

“Our students had the opportunity to spend the day as professional engineers, gaining more experience and confidence in pursuing this career,” NLMUSD Director of College and Career Pathways Joanne Jung said. “There was so much creative energy on campus and our future engineers performed to their full abilities.”

Students created 3-D models of their prototypes and gave presentations of their design and marketing strategies to a panel of professional mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers.

“The Chevron Design Challenge is an amazing opportunity for our students to showcase their skills and knowledge with their peers in a real-world application,” NLMUSD Superintendent Dr. Hasmik Danielian said. “Thank you to Chevron and Project Lead The Way for bringing this exciting competition to Norwalk-La Mirada.”

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041317_NLMUSD_CHEVRON1: John Glenn, La Mirada and Norwalk high school students competed against 15 other Los Angeles County student engineer teams on April 1 at John Glenn High School to develop original blueprints and a marketing line for lightweight headphones during the 2017 Chevron Design Challenge.