science

International Environmental Design Contest

International Environmental Design Contest is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand International Environmental Design Contest rather than just read about it. In short: The International Environmental Design Contest (IEDC) is a competition hosted by the WERC Consortium and The Institute for Energy & The Environment at New Mexico State University. It is an annual event in which student teams prepare written, oral, poster, and bench-scale model presentations in response to design tasks.

Key takeaways

International Environmental Design Contest belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect International Environmental Design Contest to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of International Environmental Design Contest from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The International Environmental Design Contest (IEDC) is a competition hosted by the WERC Consortium and The Institute for Energy & The Environment at New Mexico State University. It is an annual event in which student teams prepare written, oral, poster, and bench-scale model presentations in response to design tasks. The student solutions are judged by industry and academic professionals.

Description The International Environmental Design Contest has been held annually at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces since 1991. The Contest occurs in April and draws college students from around the United States and the world. In the past, the contest has also held concurrent high school design contests.

In response to design tasks posed by the hosting organization, student teams prepare written, oral, poster, and bench-scale model presentations. The design tasks are "based on real-world environmental challenges" and usually relate to water and renewable energy. The challenges are developed with assistance from government agencies, industrial affiliates, and academic partners. These assisting entities also serve as judges for the final competition. Judging criteria includes: process feasibility and practicality, cost analysis, community relations and outreach, adherence to various applicable regulations and permitting, safety considerations, and a discussion of potential waste streams.

Students consider alternative solutions to a given “environmental challenge” from all aspects including technical, legal, health, socioeconomic and community related issues. Other considerations include regulatory guidelines, public opinion, and cost. Winning solutions merit cash prizes and traveling trophies. The Contest is hosted by the Institute for Energy & the Environment at New Mexico State University. The Institute for Energy & the Environment includes: WERC, a Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development, Southwest Technology Development Institute, a renewable energy research and development group, and Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center, a nuclear waste-management and monitoring center.

The contest is a sponsored event. In 2007, it was sponsored by Intel, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Water Works Association and Research Foundation. In 2011, the State of New Mexico, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Intel Corporation, the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acted as sponsors for the event.

Tasks In 2003, there were 14 tasks. In 2011, there were seven. Tasks require students "to present design proposals, oral and poster presentations, and working bench-scale models to verify the design, functionality, and cost-effectiveness of their proposed solutions." The tasks are developed from input given by government agencies, industrial affiliates, academic partners to the Institute for Energy and the Environment. Example Design Contest tasks from 2007:

Develop a photovoltaic (solar panel) system performance indicator to determine that a residential utility-interactive PV system is operating properly and that the AC power output is following the solar power available to the PV array. Develop an inland desalination operation and disposal system for water in rural, isolated communities to demonstrate a low-cost, simple and reliable system. Convert a biomass resource to useful forms of energy and other products to demonstrate options using biogas or liquids.

Awards Cash prizes and traveling trophies are awarded at the Design Contest. Individual awards are also distributed at the event. Awards include Outstanding Award for best oral and paper presentation, the Terry McManus Award, the Intel Innovation award, and first and second place for the various tasks. The following is a listing of Design Contest Awards and their recipients at previous years' competitions:

2014 Design Contest Awards

2011 Design Contest Awards

1991 Design Contest Awards

Participating teams More than 5000 students have participated in the contest since its beginning. As of 2011, the following universities have attended the International Environmental Design Contest:

References

External links International Environmental Design Contest (IEDC) WERC Design Contest Institute for Energy & the Environment Design Contest Page Ohio University/WERC Website Archived 2011-08-13 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with International Environmental Design Contest

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what International Environmental Design Contest claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to International Environmental Design Contest before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about International Environmental Design Contest ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of International Environmental Design Contest

In research: International Environmental Design Contest appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses International Environmental Design Contest in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: International Environmental Design Contest is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Environmental design, International competitions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for International Environmental Design Contest outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study International Environmental Design Contest in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what International Environmental Design Contest means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain International Environmental Design Contest out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is International Environmental Design Contest in simple terms?

Why does International Environmental Design Contest matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study International Environmental Design Contest?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on International Environmental Design Contest.