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UNITED STATES: Students and teachers from Salesian Institute of Verona win runner-up for their space washing machine project at the Global Innovation Award

(MissionNewswire) Students and teachers from the Salesian Institute of Verona, Italy, are celebrating their recent runner-up win at the prestigious Global Innovation Award which was held in California in June. The competition judged the 20 best scientific projects presented during the competitive season from around the world.

The Salesian iDB Tech-No-Logic Team created the Wemit, an innovative space washing machine designed to wash astronauts’ clothes in zero gravity and without water. The Wemit system could also be used later for other purposes such as washing clothes in hospitals or food factories.

The iDB Tech-No-Logic Team is composed of five male students and three female students all in their fourth year studying the scientific and applied sciences. They were guided by Professor Luca Zanetti and assisted by two teachers, Anna Baruzzi and Andrea Materassi. The students and teachers worked on the project after school, incorporating all they had learned in their studies.

In order to advance to the Global Innovation Award, the team first had to win the FIRST LEGO League World Championship which challenged young students to think like scientists and engineers. The Salesian students won first place in the championship which was held on April 20 in Houston, Texas. During the event, 108 teams from all over the world competed against each other. These teams were selected to compete during national championships in each country and were among 40,000 candidate teams.

The Salesian Institute has already patented its project which was so impressive, the team dominated across the board at the FIRST LEGO League World Championship, coming first in the categories of scientific project, technological innovation, robotic programming, presentation and teamwork. This was the first time an Italian team was crowned the winner of this leading world science and robotics competition. The theme for this year’s competition was, “Into orbit.” The teams were challenged by NASA to invent solutions to improve the living conditions of astronauts in space.

The Salesian students highlight the importance of education to excite and inspire young people in scientific and technological subjects, using creative and unconventional methods.

“We are proud of the Salesian students and teachers from Verona for their accomplishments in these competitions,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian programs encourage innovation and help marginalized communities gain the education and resources they need to find, and even create, long-term employment that will help them break the cycle of poverty. This project, along with other science and technology projects and competitions, help Salesian students to be competitive in the labor market or to develop their own businesses to gain financial security.”

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – United States – Another medal for the “Space Washing Machine” of Verona Don Bosco at “Global Innovation Award 2019”

Salesian Missions – United States