Five University Teams To Compete On December 12 For $30,000

Universities across the United States have spent months designing and constructing their Alka-Rocket in hopes of becoming a finalist in the Bayer Alka-Rocket challenge. For five university teams their dreams have now become a reality as they will compete at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for a chance to win $30,000 and be the new Guinness World Records title holder for the Highest launch of an Alka-Rocket.

The Challenge, which will take place on December 12, is an out-of-this-world competition to design and launch an Alka-Rocket in an attempt to break the Guinness World Records title of 430 feet, set during last year's competition by the University of Minnesota.

Four of the five finalist teams were selected by a panel of distinguished judges based on the design, execution and creativity of their Alka-Rockets. The fifth finalist, Texas Tech University, earned their spot through a popular vote on Facebook, where thousands of people voted on the teams.

The five finalists are:

• Brigham Young University
• California Polytechnic State University
• Texas Tech University
• University of Georgia
• University of Minnesota

"The ingenuity and effort of the teams were clearly present in both their design strategies and launch operations," said Dr. Mae Jemison, former NASA astronaut and the first woman of color in space. "This year's Alka-Rocket Challenge represents some of the country's most promising college engineering talent. We certainly look forward to meeting them in December and seeing which school takes the title and perhaps breaks the world record."

The internationally recognized panel of judges that reviewed and selected the finalists will help judge the event, and Guinness World Records will name the winning team and new record holder. In addition to Dr. Jemison, the judges are John Hochheimer, President of the National Association of Rocketry, and Cliff Ransom, Executive Editor of Scientific American Custom Media.

Bayer created the Challenge to generate greater awareness about the country's need for more scientists, engineers and innovators. These fields form the foundations of the modern world, fostering the innovation, economic competitiveness and national security necessary to succeed in the next century. The annual competition is an exciting addition to Bayer's longstanding commitment to science literacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education.

"The Alka-Rocket Challenge is another great way for Bayer to engage our next generation of scientists and innovators, while underscoring the importance of science literacy and STEM education," said Ray Kerins, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Bayer. "It's also a great way to show how fun and engaging science can be."

An Alka-Rocket is a model rocket often built using a 1.4-inch canister and propelled by the chemical reaction that occurs when effervescent tablets are mixed with water. Often used in American science classes to demonstrate principles of chemistry and physics, Alka-Rockets are a staple experiment in Bayer's Making Science Make Sense (MSMS) award-winning science literacy initiative.

The official title recognized and recorded by Guinness World Records is the Highest launch of an effervescent tablet rocket.

(Images provided with Bayer news release)

FMI: www.bayer.us