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Georgia H. Whalen
gwhalen@PattiEng.com
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Patti Engineering Supports Michigan’s Youth in 17th Annual Future City Competition
MacArthur K-8 University Academy from Southfield, MI wins ‘Best Use of Automation Technology’ Award Sponsored by Patti Engineering
Auburn Hills, MI – February 6, 2013 – Patti Engineering, Inc., a leader in control systems integration, today announced its sponsorship of the Future City Competition for the third consecutive year. Organized by the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD), the Michigan Regional Future City Competition is a program where sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, a teacher and volunteer mentors team up to design a city of the future. With the theme, “Rethink Runoff: Design Clean Solutions to Manage Stormwater Pollution,” each design must encompass plans for infrastructure, transportation and communication systems, as well as, power plants, industrial, commercial and residential settings.
Patti Engineering sent a team of engineers to the ESD Regional Future City Competition on January 28 in Novi, MI, where they reviewed projects from teams who developed a plan and executed their designs with a budget of $100 using virtual cities in SimCity 4 software (donated by Electronic Arts). Each team was responsible for conducting their own research and writing solutions to an engineering problem and a narrative describing their city. At the completion of each city design, teams presented their creation and ideas to a panel of judges.
While the Patti Engineering judges were pleased with all of the teams’ creations, they awarded the MacArthur K-8 University Academy from Southfield, MI the “Best Use of Automation Technology” award for their innovative underground city concept, which allowed the planet’s surface to remain in a natural state while the structure of the city was built beneath the earth’s surface. Their design included an automated scoop transport system; control systems for light, air quality and water systems; natural light distribution; an automated food and water delivery concept; water control system for substance and power; thermal heating; and an inventive zero waste reclaiming design.
“It is important to support youth in Michigan, and across the nation, as they excel in the areas of math, science and engineering. Our team of judges bestowed the ‘Best Use of Automation Technology’ award upon students from MacArthur University Academy for their demonstration of innovative and complex thinking to create their concept for an underground city,” said Sam Hoff, president of Patti Engineering. “The Future City competition exemplifies a superior learning process for students where they identify problems, engage and work with team members, design solutions and test them until results can be presented.”
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About Patti Engineering, Inc.
Patti Engineering, Inc. is a CSIA Certified control systems integration company offering high-caliber engineering and software development services. Our technical expertise in electrical control and information systems allows us to provide turnkey control systems integration for design/build, upgrade/retrofit and asset/energy management projects. Industrial automation, production intelligence and shop floor IT solutions services include: project management, electrical engineering, hardware design, hardware procurement, software development, installation, calibration, start-up testing, verification, documentation, training and warranty support. Customer satisfaction and project success earned the company Control Engineering Magazine’s 2013 System Integrator of the Year. For more information, visit www.pattieng.com.
