On March 21st, students from 9 Middle Schools throughout the Hampton Roads Area participated in the 18th Annual Ship Repair Digital Innovation Competition at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC). The event - which promotes the ship repair industry while increasing competitive mathematical, analytical, and conceptual skills in middle school aged students - proved to be a great success again this year.
2023 Winners and Finalists:
1st Place: St. Matthew's Catholic School, Virginia Beach
2nd Place: Page Middle School, Gloucester
3rd Place: Academy at Rosemont, Norfolk
Finalist: Chesapeake Academy, Irvington
Thank you to the SPONSORS of the 17th Annual Ship Repair Digital Innovation Competition:
BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Platinum
East Coast Repair & Fabrication, Platinum
General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, Platinum
Newport News Shipbuilding, Platinum
Bay Metals & Fabrication, LLC, Gold
Hampton Roads Workforce Council, Silver
MHI Ship Repair & Services, Silver
Tidewater Association of Service Contractors, Silver
Thank you to the Judges who had the difficult task of choosing this years finalists and winners.
Frankie Sanchez, East Coast Repair & Fabrication
Jason Kjos, East Coast Repair & Fabrication
Jon Nash, CNRMC
Lori Calcagno, MHI Ship Repair & Services
Jay Prock, Tidewater Staffing
Casey Tarnowski, Lyon Shipyard, Inc.
Joe Kosteczko, ODU/Virginia Digital Maritime Center
Jeff Julian, Industry Preservation
Thank you to the Technical Advisors who have shared their knowledge of the ship repair industry with the competing schools.
Academy at Rosemont Middle School - Andy Linton, WR Systems
Booker T. Washington Middle School - Blaine McDonough and Brooks Cannell, General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk
Chesapeake Academy - Rob Beech, Shipyard Staffing LLC
Lake Taylor Middle School - Samantha Dixon and Ree Pullman, Thermcor Inc.
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy - Bill Miller, Fairlead Integrated
Page Middle School - Robbie Walker, Marine Chemist Service, Inc.
Peasley Middle School - Talbery Dunn and Victor Figueroa, General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk
St. Matthew's Catholic School - Wigberto Rivera, East Coast Repair & Fabrication
Vernon Johns Middle School - Nikki Vaughn and Sean Mathews, Bay Metals & Fabrication
We want to give a big thanks to Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) for their involvement and assistance with this year's Digital Innovation Competition. They were a key player in making this year's competition a success and helping share details about the ship repair industry to the students. Also, we want to shed light on the Digital Ship Challenge which was the pilot for a high school competition. High School students from around Hampton Roads were tasked with designing and building an innovative container ship that had to survive heavy seas and deliver as many containers as possible. It was a great success, and they are looking forward to next year's competition! For more information on this challenge and other VDMC projects and events, visit them at their website: digitalmaritime.org.
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