GEHS Engineering has piloted an invention education curriculum and has two teams going to Cambridge, MA, to present their inventions at the esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June. Board of Education members gave a HUGE round of applause to team members and Engineering Instructor Kevin Warfield.
The GEHS Capstone Invention Team Alpha invented the adjustable height wheelchair (A.H.W.) to help people who use wheelchairs transfer to elevated surfaces. To accomplish this, the team incorporated a lift under the wheelchair’s seat powered by a 12-volt battery. Ultimately, the goal of the A.H.W. is to aid people who use wheelchairs and have vertical mobility issues.
A second team, Team Delta, has invented a mask-integrated thermal imaging system (M.I.T.I.S.) for firefighters. This system would display a thermal image of the firefighter’s view while allowing both hands to be free for other uses. The faceplate-mounted thermal camera directly outputs a processed image to an integrated screen on the faceplate that will power the screen and camera. These components work together to achieve our ultimate goal: increasing firefighter safety and efficiency during a fire rescue situation.
The board also celebrated Instructor Kevin Warfield’s selection by Lemelson-MIT as one of ten Invention Education Fellows for the 2024-2025 school year. As an Invention Education Fellow, Kevin will provide peer-to-peer support for educators across the U.S. as they facilitate invention education for the first time.
Students honored included Kendra Culyer, Weston Pence, Rob Bennett, Hailey Ervin, Delaney Hamrick, Nate Smith, Braedon Spangler, Kyleigh Swearingen, James Yarnell, Caden Carver, Rylee Carver, Jacob Grim, Amelia Hanna, Chris Harrah, Ashley Mendez, Cole Morgan, and Olivia Warfield. Best of luck to the teams as they present their inventions at Eurekafest!
