Xavier Falcons from Middletown, CT Win the 2010-2011 Real World Design Challenge

NEEDHAM, MA - PTC, The Product Development Company® and a Founding Member of the Real World Design ChallengeTM (RWDC) today announced that the Xavier Falcons from Middletown, CT won the 2010-2011 National Finals Competition. PTC along with the Challenge partners congratulate the Xavier Falcons for designing a next-generation airplane wing that maximizes fuel efficiency and enhances performance.

The Real World Design Challenge is a national aviation design competition for high school students run by a public-private partnership with the goal of increasing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. Students from 20 states competed in elimination presentations on Saturday, April 16th at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, MD. The top three teams surviving the elimination rounds presented their national final solutions to a panel of VIP judges representing government, academia and industry in Washington, D.C. In a very close competition, the Xavier Falcons' design was judged to be the best.

After a year-long competition, the champion team from each state came to Washington, D.C. to compete with the best and the brightest from across the country. President Obama sent a letter congratulating all of the students who participated on their achievement in completing the Challenge. The letter was read to the teams by Dr. Ralph K. Coppola, Director, Real World Design Challenge & Senior Director Government & Strategic Education Programs.

"The students are the real stars," said Ken Bowersox, VP of Mission Assurance and Astronaut Safety. "They are going to be the ones creating the exciting technological advancements of the future, and the Real World Design Challenge is giving them the tools to help unleash that creative potential today."

The Challenge problem was designed by a team of engineers from government and industry including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cessna Aircraft Company, the Federal Aviation Administration and others to let students tackle the design challenges that engineers face every day. This Competition prepares them for the workforce of tomorrow.

As a founding member of the RWDC, PTC supports the program on multiple fronts. PTC provides program management, a grant of software to each participating school, including CreoTM Elements/ProTM, Windchill® and Mathcad®, engagement with industry partners, team support and technical and administrative support.

"Businesses today are concerned about where they will find a creative, highly skilled workforce needed to prosper 10 and 20 years," said John Stuart, Senior Vice President, Education, PTC. "Through the Real World Design Challenge, we are significantly building the next generation of engineers. We have high school students already using the same tools as the best engineers in the industry and taking on the same challenges the best and brightest engineers face every day."

This year, more than 3,000 students from across the country participated in the Challenge. Every student participated at no cost to themselves or their schools. In fact, partners donated more than a billion dollars to schools since the Challenge's inception. Forty partners from industry, government, and academia have come together to make the Challenge a reality. They have worked in collaboration with the governors and lieutenant governors of 28 states and the District of Columbia.

"The Real World Design Challenge is a shining example of ways schools, government and industry can ensure America continues to lead in aerospace," said Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell of Alaska, Chair of the Aerospace States Association. "Through the Challenge, my fellow governors and lieutenant governors and I have been able to bring tremendous resources and expertise from industry to schools across the country at no cost to the students and schools.