West Philly Hybrid X team earns Popular Mechanics Next Generation Breakthrough Award

The respected West Philadelphia High School Hybrid X team has been given the Next Generation Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine: Of the 111 Teams that competedfor the $10 million purse in last year’s Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, only one was from a high school—West Philadelphia, where85 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. West […]

By:

Oct 12, 2011 10:00am

Clockwise from left: Jeffrey Johnson, Stefon Gonzalez, Brandon Ford, Shamere Palmer, Adam Mitchell, Sydney Dickerson, Azeem Hill, Morris Bailey and Ciera Williams Dennis Kleiman Read more: The West Philly Students Who Build Supercars - 2011 Breakthrough Award Winner - Popular Mechanics

The respected West Philadelphia High School Hybrid X team has been given the Next Generation Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine:

Of the 111 Teams that competedfor the $10 million purse in last year’s Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, only one was from a high school—West Philadelphia, where85 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. West Philly entered two vehicles—a Factory Five GTM biodiesel hybrid kit car and a converted Ford Focus gasoline plug-in hybrid—and made it to the semifinals with both. “We were going up against teams that had dozens of engineers, and we had 15 students, a couple of teachers and a dream,” says adviser Simon Hauger, a teacher in the school’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering. “One of the marvelous things about teenagers is they’re not daunted by that.”

Companies: West Philly Hybrid X Team

Tags: Education

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

Our services Preferred partners The journalism fund

Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

West Philly Hybrid X team earns Popular Mechanics Next Generation Breakthrough Award

Before you go...

Join our growing Slack community

Why are there so few tech apprenticeships?

Philly’s tech and innovation ecosystem runs on collaboration

Look inside: Franklin Institute’s Giant Heart reopens with new immersive exhibits

Robot dogs, startup lawsuits and bouncing back from snubs: Philly tech’s biggest stories of the year