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For Immediate Release

Written by: Louise Teague, 260-481-6495

Media contact: Carol Dostal, 260-481-6905

Local Teachers Win Future City Awards at IPFW

(Fort Wayne, May 7, 2008) -- Three local middle school teachers, Nick Balmoria of Blackhawk Middle School, Richard Flickinger of Leo Jr/Sr High School, and Bob Brothers of Canterbury, were honored with an award sponsored by Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science (ETCS) and Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) at the 2008 Indiana Regional Future City Competition. All three teachers and their schools have been participating in Future City for eight years and have consistently excelled in the competition. Their respective schools received a monetary award on their behalf.

A Future City team is comprised of seventh and eighth grade students working in teams with a teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor to create a city of the future, first on computers using SimCity 3000 software and then in a large tabletop model. Future City encourages interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through hands-on applications, and reaches more than 30,000 students in 1,100 schools across the country.

The I&M/ETCS Future City Education award honors the school and participating Future City teacher who exemplifies a model Future City program. The primary criteria for this award include consistent participation and volunteer time from a teacher over four or more consecutive years; dedication to developing a model Future City education program; demonstrated willingness to share "Best Practices" with other teachers, parents, or schools; and commitment to offering students an opportunity to learn about careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

For a photo of the award recipients visit www.ipfw.edu/news/resources/downloads. For more information contact Carol Dostal, Future City Indiana Regional Coordinator at IPFW, at 260-481-6905 or dostalc@ipfw.edu.

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Photo identification
Left to right: Engineer-mentor Morrie Walchle (retired) and teacher Nick Balmoria, Blackhawk Middle School; Canterbury teacher Bob Brothers, engineers Mark Shaver (Raytheon) and Scott Armstrong (Armstrong Technology Partners); Leo Jr/Sr High School teacher Richard Flickinger and engineer Rick Slayback (Civil Engineering Services); Dean Gerard Voland, IPFW College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science.

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