Volunteer judges needed for Future City Competition finals

Judges are needed for one of the activities taking place during Engineers Week 2006: the Future City Competition National Finals, to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Future City Competition, which is sponsored by the National Engineers Week Committee, is an annual competition for seventh- and eighth-grade students. More than 30,000 students from 1,000 schools designed future urban centers using SimCity software for the competition. The top team will win a trip to U.S. Space Camp.

The 14th annual national finals will be held from Feb. 20–22 at the Hyatt Regency-Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

If you would like to serve as a model judge or as an essay judge for the Future City Competition National Finals, please contact Carol Rieg, national director, Future City Competition, no later than Jan. 10, 2006.

Rieg can be contacted by e-mail at CRieg@futurecity.org, or by phone at (877) 636-9578. When contacting her, please provide the following information:

1. Your name
2. Society and/or work affiliation
3. Mailing address
4. Phone number
5. E-mail address
6. Important: You must specify if you would like to be a MODEL or an ESSAY judge.

Model and Presentation Judges:

The committee is searching for engineers and other professionals who could serve as model and presentation judges on Feb. 21, 2006. The judges will be responsible for judging the model and team verbal presentation. There are specific score sheets related to these sections of the competition in the Judge's Manual, which will be sent to you upon confirmation of your participation as a judge.

The judges will work in teams — although each judge will have to complete a scoring sheet. Judging manuals are available on our Web site at www.futurecity.org. Click on "Resources."

Essay Judges:

Additionally, essay judges are needed prior to the national competition. Each team essay is 500 to 700 words. The topic is "Creating an Engineering Feasibility Plan."

The essay-judging task does not require you to be on-site for the national competition. As an essay judge, you should be able to judge 10 Future City Competition regional-winner essays at your convenience from Feb. 9–15. It should take about three hours.

The 2006 National Engineers Week Future City program is sponsored in and around these 37 cities and regions: Albany, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Colorado; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Florida; Georgia; Hampton Roads, Va.; Houston; Idaho; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Milwaukee; Minnesota; New Jersey; New York City; North Carolina; Northern Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Omaha, Neb.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; South Carolina; St. Louis; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and Washington State.

back to news & features