Ten SVGS juniors, ten seniors and two SVGS teachers attended the second annual Virginia Tech Makers Conference at the Institute for Creativity, Art & Technology (ICAT) in the Moss Art Center at Virginia Tech on April 17. Virginia Governor’s School Makers Conference is an opportunity for Virginia Governor’s School students to share what they make with peers and the Virginia Tech community. Projects are judged on their science, engineering, art, design, and process. S Students received feedback about their projects and were encouraged to consider the tremendous possibilities inspired by human imagination and supported by modern technology. The keynote speaker, Charles Nichols, shared his love of music and technology, showcasing the use of microprocessor sensor data to inspire and produce musical compositions.
Students and teachers along with Virginia Tech staff interacted in a variety of settings reviewing project displays as well as tours of the ICAT facilities. One of the highlights was a 3D sonic representation of a Tornado utilizing the 128 speaker super-surround sound system in the “cube”.
Several SVGS projects were recognized during the award ceremony. Seth Jones’ robotic, self-navigating cart received honorable mention in the “Process” category. The rain sensing window controller from the group of Witt Yancy, Rebecca Ford and Tom Argiro received honorable mention in the “Engineering” and “People’s Choice” categories. The interactions among students, staff and judges was positive and encouraging. It was an interesting and inspiring experience that will help pave the way for future creative and innovative projects.
Rain Sensing Window Controller* Witt Yancey, Becca Ford, Tom Argiro *Honorable Mention – Engineering, Honorable Mention – People’s Choice
Robotic Self-Navigating Cart * Seth Jones *Honorable Mention – Process
Electromagnetic Projectile Launcher Forrest Hollberg, Ailec Wu
Piezoelectric Car Shocks Henry Wyatt Wilson, Olivia Nicole Heeb
Remote-Controlled Hovercraft Josh Matheney, James Baldwin
Shenandoah Valley Governor's School 