Eisenhower Middle School won last month in Picatinny Arsenal’s Solar Car Invitational Competition at Picatinny Arsensal.

EMS had 17 teams entered in the competition out of 55 total participants. Eight of the school’s teams won their preliminary races and made it to a spot in the playoffs. Overall, the teams came in first, third, and fourth place. First place winners were seventh graders, MarcAnthony Scalera and Charles Nino.Third place winners were eighth graders Zachary Zoino and Giovanni Stocky; and fourth place winners were eighth graders Adam Anikiej and Maximilian Shulkowski.

This is the second year in a row where an EMS’s STEAM team took first in the Solar Car Invitational.

EMS students, Michael Mendelsohn and Brody Hageneder also won second place in the Engineering and Design portion of the Junior Solar Sprint Competition by designing and printing their entire car on a 3-D printer.

“I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication that all of our teams displayed in preparation for this competition,” said EMS STEAM teacher and Robotics advisor Phillip Moskowitz. “Our students continue to amaze us on a daily basis, and it is wonderful to see what happens when you spark their passion and creativity. The students, their parents, and the Roxbury community should be very proud of the ingenuity, dedication and accomplishments of this group of kids.”

The Picatinny Arsenal STEM office in conjunction with Research Development Engineering Command & Army Education Outreach Program (RDECOM/AEOP) hosted the third Jr. Solar Sprint Invitational races at Picatinny Arsensal Forge Gymnasium for fifth through eighth graders.

Picatinny Arsenal Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) provided the venue for the race as well as mentorship and judging for the event. RDECOM/AEOP provided Jr. Solar Sprint kits as well as an all-expense paid trip to the national event for the two winning students, Nino and Scalera and their teacher, Moskowitz, where they will race against teams from all over the nation.

The winning team will be traveling to Nashville Tennessee to compete in the Junior Solar Sprint National Championships between June 29 and July 2.

Students built their race cars from locally sourced materials and kept an engineering lab notebook for review and judging by S&E volunteers. The lab notebook was to demonstrate the students’ ability to clearly document their thought process in designing, developing, building and testing their proposed solar powered race car.

“Congratulations to our EMS students for their outstanding achievement in the solar car competition,” said Leo Coakley, Roxbury Board of Education vice-president and grandfather to first place winner, Charles Nino! And thanks to Mr. Moskowitz for this dedication in working with our students. This program exemplifies cooperation between the school district and Picatinny to provide opportunities for our students to have hands on application of their knowledge of science and expression of individual creativity.”

Information, videos and pictures of the EMS STEM group can be found on Facebook by searching “Eisenhower STEM Lab” or by contacting Moskowitz at pmoskowitz@roxbury.org or Elizabeth Omegna, EMS assistant principal at eomegna@roxbury.org.

Eisenhower’s STEAM program this year is comprised of ten, seventh graders and 22. eighth graders..