WHAT:  Thirty-four teams of high school students who have tackled real-world engineering design problems to help people with disabilities or special needs will showcase their solutions at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. 

Working with a teacher-adviser, each team of four to six students had to find a client whose life would be improved with an assistive device - from a five-year-old with cerebral palsy who wants to play video games to a 90-year-old who needs help holding the phone.  The 146 students tackled real-world engineering design problems, considered alternatives, documented their efforts and worked with a budget.

            Tyco Electronics, with M/A-COM, is the leading sponsor, along with a major grant from 3M. The Assistive Technology Design Fair is a program of UML's College of Engineering.

WHERE:     Cumnock Hall, One University Ave., Lowell

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:

Poster Sessions: 9:20 - 10:15 a.m.; all teams have displays set up and are available to answer questions

Keynote Speaker: 10:15 a.m.; Dr. Eli Peli, Harvard Medical School, developed many devices for patients with low vision

Best Project Presentations: 11 a.m. - noon; five teams with outstanding projects will make presentations

PARTICIPATING TEAMS:

Dracut (2 teams), Fitchburg (2), Greater Lawrence Technical (1), Hanover (4), Lawrence (1), Medford (10), Tyngsboro (4), Westford Academy (8)