Uniontown, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that a team of students from the Norwin School District in Westmoreland County has been selected as the PennDOT District 12 winner for its sixth Innovations Challenge.
Mentored by Thomas Harskowitch; team members include Nicholas Cormas, Gabriel Conboy, and Caden Hoffman.
The PennDOT Innovations Challenge invites high school students from around the Commonwealth to develop creative solutions to real-world transportation challenges. The goal of the Innovations Challenge is to help students explore actual challenges PennDOT and the transportation industry is facing as well as consider the possibility of working in the industry following graduation.
Since being announced last October, students across the state have been diligently developing creative and strategic solutions to a real-world transportation challenge. This year, teams were tasked with selecting one of Pennsylvania's interstate corridors where truck parking is a known issue and develop an innovative approach to increase commercial truck parking availability in that area and offset costs incurred for construction.
Pennsylvania is a critical freight corridor for commercial drivers bound for destinations across the continent," said Mike Carroll, Acting Secretary of Transportation. "It's inspiring to see the next generation of problem-solvers approaching the issues of today with the creativity and ingenuity of tomorrow."
The winning regional team's innovation was Surplus Plaza, a financially smart and environmentally friendly solution poised to be a self-sustaining travel plaza, that addressed not only funding and profitability but also the impact on the community and the environment. The proposal encompassed many aspects that would provide great service, consideration, and accommodation to those visiting their Surplus Plaza.
"Nicholas, Gabe, and Caden were able to clearly explain their innovative idea and handled the questions of the panel of judges with insightful responses," said Thomas Harskowitch, mentor. "The judges were impressed with the amount of research and statistics provided with the presentation, which provided the much-needed support to justify their innovative ideas."
Regional Innovations Challenge winners will present their solutions to the PennDOT Acting Secretary and a panel of judges in Harrisburg next month, where a statewide winner for 2023 will be determined. For this year's challenge, the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of PA (ACEC/PA) are providing a combined total award of $4,000 to the statewide winning team.
For complete Innovations Challenge details, visit www.penndot.gov/innovation and click on Innovations Challenge.
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Contacts: Toni Hartley, 724-425-3018 or tohartley@pa.gov
Melissa Maczko, 724-439-7135 or mmaczko@pa.gov
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