DeepCwind Consortium Announces Winners of Windstorm Challenge 2011

Written by Joshua Plourde Friday, 13 May 2011 16:05


ORONO, Maine – May 13, 2011 – The University of Maine’s AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center welcomed students from schools all across Maine to the first DeepCwind Consortium’s Windstorm Challenge on Friday, May 13. The events took place throughout the day at the University of Maine’s Wallace Pool and Field House, and in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Maine Wind Blade Challenge. Over 300 students from over 30 schools competed at the events.

DeepCwind Consortium’s Windstorm Challenge asked teams of middle and high school students to design and construct a floating platform for a scale model wind turbine and deliver a business plan and sales pitch to a panel of expert judges. Teams were critiqued on technical feasibility and aesthetic design of their platform, as well as the quality of their sales pitch. 


“Floating Ducks” team from Mt. Blue High School came in second,  “Team Syracuse” team from Lake Region High School came in third, “Wyld Stallyns” team from Maine School of Science and Mathematics came in fourth, and the “Wind 2” team of Westbrook High School came in fifth.

An internship worth up to $20,000 was awarded to Darius Haskell and Nathan Faessler, students from the first place Maine School of Science and Mathematics team “Ace of Spades.” Acceptance of the internship award requires enrollment in the University of Maine and entails four years of work at AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center.

All Windstorm Challenge participants will receive a 1-year subscription to Popular Science magazine. The participants from the two top teams also received iPod shuffles.

5th Place

Wind 2

Westbrook High School

4th Place

Wyld Stallyns

Maine School of Science and Mathematics

3rd Place

Team Syracuse

Lake Region High School

2nd Place

Floating Ducks

Mt. Blue High School

1st Place

Ace of Spades

Maine School of Science and Mathematics

The DeepCwind Consortium's mission is to establish the State of Maine as a national leader in deepwater offshore wind technology through a research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center is a state-of-the-art one-stop-shop for integrated composite materials and structural component development. Located at the University of Maine, it offers in-house capabilities for developing a composite product or structure from the conceptual stage through research, manufacturing of prototypes, comprehensive testing and evaluation, code approval and commercialization. In the past year it has been awarded nearly $40 million in funding to pursue research in deepwater offshore wind energy technology. Advanced Structures and Composites Center Director Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E. is the DeepCwind Consortium principal investigator.

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(207) 581-2831