U.S. Army's eCYBERMISSION Program Awards More Than $100,000 to Student Teams Across the Southwest Region

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, the U.S. Army announced today that it has named the 2009-2010 eCYBERMISSION 96 regional winning teams. Managed by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the eCYBERMISSION program awarded more than $800,000 to students from across the nation and in Department of Defense Education Activity schools overseas.

eCYBERMISSION is a free, web-based, STEM competition for students in grades six through nine. The eCYBERMISSION competition encourages and rewards students from a diverse range of proficiency levels, interests and backgrounds. Since the program's inception in 2002, eCYBERMISSION has awarded more than $7.6 million in U.S. EE Savings Bonds in support of the STEM leaders of tomorrow. The program allows students to compete for regional and national awards while working through the scientific method to solve problems in their communities.  

The program selects teams with the two highest scores in each grade and region as the first-place and second-place regional winning teams. eCYBERMISSION also awards a team in each grade and region in four criteria award categories. These categories include: Application of Science, Math & Technology; Innovation, Originality & Creativity; Benefit to the Community; and Team Collaboration & Communication. Each student on the 96 regional winning teams will be awarded a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Army and between $2,000 and $3,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds.

The following list displays the schools in the Southwest region that have been recognized for their regional winning teams:

• Byng Junior High School, Ada, Okla.
• Northeast STEM Academy, San Antonio, Texas
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Belle Chasse, La.
• Science Rocks U, Whiteface, Texas

"We are extremely proud of each of the regional winning teams for their creative and innovative use of outstanding research, experimentation and analysis during this year's eCYBERMISSION competition," said Maj. Gen. Nick G. Justice, commanding general, RDECOM. "These students were selected from thousands of their peers, not only for their potential as future leaders in STEM, but for their work to improve and make a positive impact on the communities in which they live."

The 16 first-place regional winning teams, comprised of three to four students, will travel to Baltimore, Md., in late June to compete in the 2010 National Judging and Educational Event (NJ&EE) and vie for the honor of being named a national first-place winning team. The teams will present their projects to a panel of National Judges on June 24 for a chance to win up to an additional $5,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds and the national title in each grade.

More than 71,000 students from across the country and in U.S. territories and DoDEA schools worldwide have participated in the competition since 2002. This year, 13,218 students registered for eCYBERMISSION and formed more than 3,300 teams.

For more information on the eCYBERMISSION program, the 2010 NJ&EE or for a complete listing of the 2010 eCYBERMISSION winning teams, contact Rachael Lighty at 1-866-GO-CYBER (462-9237) or visit www.ecybermission.com.

About the U.S. Army RDECOM

The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) is the Army's primary source for integrated research, development and engineering capabilities that empower, unburden and protect the Warfighter to enable the dominance of the Army.  RDECOM provides the full spectrum of basic research, development, engineering and analysis of Warfighter systems, from concept to capability. RDECOM is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., with laboratories and research and development centers throughout the country, and representatives throughout the world. For more information on RDECOM visit www.army.mil/rdecom.

SOURCE eCYBERMISSION