Newark Ohlone campus holds first 3D printing challenge

On April 5, a panel of judges reviewed the top 30 of 192 entrants participating in the Rotary Young Innovators 3D Printing Challenge and awarded the winning three teams with prizes of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000.

Rotary clubs are known for speech contests and opportunities to learn interpersonal skills. But Mission San Jose Rotary president Rudy Malanum imagined a new way of attracting young people, a competition emphasizing STEM skills.

In the last few years, the accessibility of 3D printing has meant that ideas are now easily and quickly transformed into real-life objects with a speed and efficiency that could significantly impact people’s lives. Since students throughout the district have access to the technology, Malanum wanted to see the amazing ideas that students would bring to life.

The first-place contestants, Sanshray Vakkalagadda, Saket Sandru and Dhruv Jindal—all of American High School—modeled a laparoscopy training kit. Not only is the printed equipment about a hundredth of the cost of its manufactured counterpart, the kit demonstrates that if provided with a printer, base materials and access to the internet, a rural community could begin their own training program inexpensively and quickly.

Dr. Lisa Burns, Washington High’s AVID Site Coordinator teamed up with Rotary to spread the word to all grades 6-12 in the district, and Veronica Parker, Ed.D., Director of Career Education Programs and Services of Ohlone College, Newark, offered the campus to host the event.

For prizes, $1,500 went to Gatik Goyal and Mohammad Ayaan Nisar’s energy-saving SmartVent, and $1,000 went to Riya Nigam, Samhita Modala, Poojha Suresh Kumar and Anjli Hosangadi for their Waste Water Elimination Network. Both teams are from Irvington High School.

Judging were Fremont mayor, Raj Salwan, Ohlone Engineering faculty Dr. Rose-Margaret Itua, Applied Materials engineer Guram Manzulashvili, and Rotary Public Relations Chair, Jeff Severtson. Each project was evaluated for 1) the problem or issue addressed, 2) impact on the community, 3) economic impact, 4) technical execution, and 5) overall presentation.

“We were looking for something that would have a positive impact on the world,” said Severtson. “Entrants to the contest had to have a vision. They had to make good use of the technology, of course, but importantly, they had to have an implementation plan they would use to bring this thing into reality.” 

Rotary fundraising for the contest was very successful. “We raised twice as much as we needed,” said Severtson, “so we’re definitely looking forward to doing this again next year.”