PA Cyber Earns People’s Choice Award at Governor’s STEM Competition

MIDLAND – PA Cyber’s team received the People’s Choice Award in the 2023 Governor’s STEM Competition State Finals for their deer-deterrent device that aims to reduce car accidents in Pennsylvania. The finals event was held at PaTTAN Harrisburg on April 19, where the team presented their project to a panel of judges. More than 70 teams originally entered the statewide competition, and PA Cyber’s team was one of 21 to advance to the finals. Their People’s Choice Award is for best safety-related project.

“While presenting their project, our team of students articulated the intricacies of their months of research and design admirably,” said PA Cyber Supervisor of STEM Education Tom Brambley, “and more impressively, they handled several highly technical questions from the judges with poise, knowledge, and even a little humor!” Brambley and PA Cyber Regional Office Representative Jolene Frazell advised the team throughout the competition.

In the annual competition, teams of high school students research, design, and present a device that can improve quality of life for Pennsylvanians. The PA Cyber cohort (Tressa Clark, Declan Coury, William Duvall, and Riley Nemoseck) decided to tackle the issue of deer-related car accidents. They developed a device that emits an ultrasonic tone that only deer can hear, which warns them away from the road. The device is an evolution of deer whistles that insurance company Progressive deemed ineffective in 2003. After creating a prototype, the students completed a written proposal and video presentation for the judges’ consideration before being admitted to the state finals.

Students partnered with advisors on the device’s design: engineering professor Dr. Timothy Miller from Saint Francis University and engineers Michael Nemoseck and Logan Clark.

“We are proud of the award and how far we came in the competition!” said tenth grader Declan Coury. “We're looking to compete again next year, and this past year of experience will help us greatly in 2024.”

PA Cyber’s team participated in the Governor’s STEM Competition last year for the first time and brought home an honorable mention. Last year’s team—comprising different members—created a hands-free solution for applying pesticides.

View more photos of our team at the state finals.

Media Contact

Jennie Harris / jennie.harris@pacyber.org

About PA Cyber

Serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber) is one of the largest, most experienced, and most successful online public schools in the nation. PA Cyber's online learning environments, personalized instruction methods, and choices of curricula connect Pennsylvania students and their families with state-certified and highly qualified teachers and rich academic content that is aligned with state standards. Founded in 2000, PA Cyber is headquartered in Midland (Beaver County) and maintains a network of support offices throughout the state. As a public school, PA Cyber is open for enrollment by any school-age child residing in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and does not charge tuition to students or families.