Five student teams from AmTech Career Academy, Amarillo College, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and West Texas A&M presented at the fourth annual Pantex Innovation Challenge finals on Friday at the plant's JCDC auditorium. Each team had 15 minutes to present and five minutes for judges' questions. Judges scored each presentation privately before the next team took the stage.
Dillard, program manager of Academic Partnerships and Technology Transfer at Pantex, said plant managers list the company's needs, and the student teams choose which issues to solve. Proposals covered automated transport, storage and catalogues of facility materials, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi device detection, and secure chemical handling and waste disposal.
The judges were Marcus Lea, Monty Cates, Tyfani Lanier and Harry Gully, who asked teams about cost, environmental impact, health risks, safety features and other parameters of their plans. Virginia Gipson, a member of Amarillo College's Mobile Ammunition Disposal team, said her team addressed the open burning of explosives and the disposal of explosive waste.