The 2021 Dallas/East Texas Consolidated Divisional STEM Competition was hosted virtually over Whova and Zoom on Friday, January 29, 2021. More than 50 student competitors from across the region attended the free event.
Texas students from grades 6-12 competed in teams to solve an all-virtual Engineering Design Challenge. Participants were sworn to secrecy about the Challenge – at least until February 28th, when students across the state had their chance to try their skills solving the same problem. This year’s challenge was developed by engineers from ConocoPhillips.
The Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing Texas students to join a strong and diverse STEM workforce. TAME programs encourage students to build skills and explore STEM concepts through hands-on activities, TAME Clubs, and statewide and divisional STEM Competitions.
The top six teams from the Engineering Design Challenge were recognized. Three teams also received a special Judges’ Choice Award for teamwork and creative problem solving. All students on the top two teams will be invited to participate in the Virtual State STEM Competition on April 24, 2021. Invitations will be sent out in March to students who qualify to participate.
Thanks to the support of TAME’s 2021 Statewide STEM Competition sponsor ConocoPhillips, STEM Competitions across Texas are offered free of charge for all participants. TAME thanks our 2021 Awards Sponsor Halliburton, and our Dallas Sponsors Google, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, and PPG.
The first special presentation at the event featured Kyndra Johnson, Executive Director of the STEM and Innovation Department of Richardson ISD. Next Daisy Luong, a Lockheed Martin System Integration/Test Engineering Senior Manager, spoke about her STEM career and what it’s like manage a department of 122 engineers. Both presenters took questions from students, and shared words of encouragement.
We are especially grateful to the Dallas Chapter Competition Coordinator Carol McBroom of Richardson ISD and the East Texas Chapter Chapter Chair and Competition Coordinator Cyndi Nyvall of ESC Region 7. We would also like to thank our dedicated TAME Club Sponsors, and the many volunteers from Eastman Chemical Company, GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, McIntosh Architecture, ESC Region 7, Richardson ISD, Texas Tech University, The University of Texas at Austin, and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for celebrating achievement in STEM and making learning fun and exciting for Texas students.
More information on TAME’s annual STEM Competitions can be found here. See more about TAME’s plan for the 2020-21 school year. Want to get involved in planning local and statewide TAME events? Learn more here.
Congratulations to all our hardworking competitors!
A screenshot from the Awards Ceremony of the 2021 Dallas/East Texas STEM Competition.
PARTICIPANTS
The following TAME Clubs participated in the event:
| Club Name | TAME Chapter |
| Hawkins Middle School | East Texas |
| Jack E. Singley Academy | Dallas |
| Lewisville High School | Dallas |
| Liberty Junior High School | Dallas |
| Pine Tree Junior High | East Texas |
| Pine Tree Middle School | East Texas |
| Science and Engineering Magnet at Townview | Dallas |
| Winnsboro High School | East Texas |
ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE RESULTS
The six top scoring teams were recognized with awards. All students on the top two teams will be invited to participate in the Virtual State STEM Competition on April 24, 2021.
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place | 5th Place | 6th Place |
| Team 2 | Team 1 | Team 4 | Team 10 | Team 8 | Team 6 |
| Excavation Nation | Oil Incorporated | Team Pony | Ben 10 | The Oilers | Drill Squad |
| Ava Harrell | Alex Chen | Alexis Klein | Alexia Rutledge | Brenden Walker | Clark Medin |
| Gavin Boyd | Beverly Bormentar | Bryleigh Mayhan | Edwin Locke | Elyse Nevarez | Grace Rodriguez |
| LaTrinity Jefferson | Jordan Chapin | Deanna Szepesi | Evelin Montano | Joseph Henry | Jacob Gonzalez |
| Nhi Ho | Luke Rogers | Gabriella Hernandez | Haiden Hailey | Matthew Sprague | Joana Loya |
| Nickolas Pena-Alvarado | Noah Rutledge | Jocelyn Cordova | Mae Shen | Zoey Bowers | Travis Clark |
| Sneha Shrestha |
JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARDS
Because STEM fields rely on creative problem solving, three Judges’ Choice Awards were presented to teams who communicated well to create a strong strategy, and who prioritized creativity and teamwork.
| Judges’ Choice | Judges’ Choice | Judges Choice |
| Team 5 | Team 9 | Team 3 |
| The Drillers | Niners the Miners | The Oranges |
| Charles Rue | Advika Varadharajan | Carina Sanchez |
| Joshua Omotoso | Cristal Cupido | Chaleigh Jones |
| Layton Keith | Dax McCain | Emily Willadson |
| Rachel Malloy | Isaiah Sims | Steve Nuñez |
| Natasha Imangbe | William Jordan |
Thanks to our Sponsors!
Statewide Sponsor
Statewide Awards Sponsor
Regional Presenting Sponsor
Corporate & Foundation Sponsors
ExxonMobil, Google, Howmet Aerospace, Northrup Grumman, Permian Basin Area Foundation, PPG, Rackspace, Silicon Labs, and Xcel Energy
Higher Education Partners
Angelo State University, Odessa College, Texas Tech University, University of Houston, The University of Texas at Austin, and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
