Vinemont High School physics students have                                                                          had the opportunity this semester to participate                                                                      in a project created by two engineering                                                                                    professors, Dr. Matt Turner and Dr. P.J.                                                                                    Benfield.  This project is funded by NASA and                                                                        the professors are from UAH.  This year teams                                                                        are designing a payload that will travel into                                                                              space to the planet Venus.  Twenty two teams                                                                        are competing this fall.  The NASA review will be                                                                    December 13^th in Huntsville, Alabama. Winning                                                                      teams will be rewarded with an all expense paid                                                                      trip to Washington D.C. to meet and speak with prominent persons at NASA headquarters. 

The following students below presented to the Cullman County Board of Education during the October 17^th meeting.  The students gave an overview of their project design and answered questions from the board members.

Team TWISTER, which stands for Teens Working in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research. Their mission is to find out if there is a magnetic field on Venus. Venus is a harsh planet with a toxic atmosphere. On Venus lie two vortices. Two probes will be deployed, one into the vortices on the South Pole and one at the equator. The probe is shaped as an ellipsoid. The material is tantalum. This material will help us successfully overcome and travel through the harsh environment on Venus. (L to R—KaSarah Webb, Rayann Powe, Emily Holcombe, Kandice Chaffin, Joshua Kent, Riley Foust, Sam Wood)