The purpose of the Scholarship and Non-Student Metric awards is to promote usage of SI/metric units in US society, as well as to promote metric awareness and proper usage.
USMA Kevlin/Jordan metric award recipients
2024
The winners of the 2024 8th annual USMA Kevlin-Jordan Scholarship and Non-Student Awards have been selected by the USMA Awards Committee (Elizabeth Benham, Mark Henschel, Don Jordan, and Don Hillger). The number of applicants for the 2 awards were 1039 (Student Scholarship) and 89 (Non-Student Awards), respectively. [For the non-student/educator award, the most applications received were from Texas (15), Georgia (10), Arizona (7), Florida (6), Illinois (6), Ohio (6), California (5), Pennsylvania (4), and then 3 or fewer from all other states.]
Final evaluation and judging occurred at a USMA Board of Directors meeting on 10 June. Subsets of all applicants were first chosen as finalists for the 2 awards, followed by further selections of the award winners from among the finalists. The winners were then contacted and asked to provide summaries highlighting what they have accomplished and future plans to promote the metric system in the USA. Scholarship winners were also asked about selected colleges they plan to attend.
(Note: It should be mentioned that with the advent of widespread AI (Artificial Intelligence), it became obvious that a number of student scholarship applications were written using AI. The similarity of the application wording was an indication of AI, and those applications were dismissed from consideration. Next year a statement about disqualification for the use of AI will be added to the USMA awards application page.)
Juanmario Barragan
Laredo, TX
First Place, Student Scholarship, $2500
As a current high school senior passionate about math and aspiring to become an aerospace engineer, I am a strong advocate for the adoption of SI units in US society. This is important because SI units align with global standards but also simplify conversions and streamline calculations in engineering and scientific fields.
In high school, my efforts focused on raising awareness within my school community. Through discussions in classes, study groups, and clubs I highlighted the benefits of the metric system, like its simplicity and consistency. I’ve also utilized social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to share informative yet entertaining content that highlights the disadvantages the US faces without adopting SI units.
Moving forward into college and beyond, I plan to expand my advocacy efforts by drawing inspiration from my father, a state lobbyist. I intend to engage government officials to promote legislation supporting the integration of metric units in federal documents. Furthermore, I will collaborate with educators and industry leaders to advocate for curriculum updates and professional standards that prioritize the metric system.
A perhaps more ambitious goal is to pursue the development of a user-friendly metric conversion app and online database. I will focus on assembling a network of tech-savvy developers to help me create a tool that facilitates seamless transitions between SI and non-SI units.
Finally, my plans to help drive metric system adoption will grow as I do. From taking a school level approach to a college, academic, and government approach to hit many key areas of our society to encourage this very important and beneficial adoption.
Omar Reyes
Houston, TX
Second Place, Student Scholarship, $1000
My passion for metric accessibility emerged from an unexpected place: watching a loved one lose his artistic abilities to Parkinson’s tremors. Motivated by empathy, I pioneered ReactGlove alongside two others—an anti-tremor glove using reaction wheels to counteract shaking. Now as I prepare to bring this device from lab to clinic, I recognize metric inconsistencies as barriers to widespread adoption. Establishing international quantitative standards will allow for seamless data sharing during clinical testing, synchronized design specifications among global manufacturing partners, and unified quality control measures regardless of assembly source.
Streamlining ReactGlove’s advancement with consistent metrics will shatter current limitations to equitable access. I envision utilizing ReactGlove’s journey to spark community-wide metric education, beginning with Houston’s youth. Conveying metrics’ universal power across science and technology will inspire the next generation of diverse minds leading Houston toward health equity powered by standardized innovation. Through meticulous metric integration underpinned in community collaboration, I will help eliminate preventable healthcare discrepancies starting right here at home.
Imelda Guimary
Nutley, NJ
First Place, Non-Student Award, $500
Although the scientific community acknowledges that the metric system (SI) enhances the accuracy and consistency of measurements, thereby ensuring the reliability, safety, and quality of patient care, its overall consistent use over the years appears to be quite slow. I am committed to actively accelerating this meaningful undertaking in the clinical setting through advocacy, patient, student, and clinical staff education, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
As a clinical faculty in a state university, I will find and collaborate with various department educators and students who share my passion for consistently using the SI. Interdepartmental and interprofessional collaboration will multiply our resources, efforts, and knowledge to expand our impact on the SI awareness campaigns. I will also encourage students to conduct research and quality improvement projects using the SI.
As a nurse educator, medical provider, and population health advocate I will continue to leverage the national focus on patient safety and patient care quality in my spheres of influence.
As the Institute for Safe Medication Practices recognizes that weighing patients using the SI is considered one of the medication safety best practices for preventing medication error, I plan to reach out to regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission to mandate the use of the SI in all patient care-related activities.
In the meantime, as it requires an organization-wide initiative to implement this change in the patient care setting, I will continue with a stepwise process to advocate for and promote the consistent use of the SI. As a medical provider and nurse educator, I will follow up with the interdisciplinary executive leadership (medical, pharmacy, nursing, etc.) to reaffirm their support for the consistent and mandatory use of the SI in anthropometric measurements (heights, weights, body circumference, body mass index, etc.), quantifying medications, and documentations. To ensure consistency, I will recommend fool-proof standard processes, such as defaulting weighing scales and stadiometers to the SI and purchasing materials and pieces of equipment with SI graduations only.
Finally, in this era of technological advancement and social media, I am tapping the creativity of my children in creating TikTok videos, infographics, and digital comic art to convey the benefits of using SI to promote safe and quality patient care both for the healthcare professional community and the public whom we serve.
Monica Countryman
Quinter, KS
Second Place, Non-Student Award, $250
As a former science teacher, I have seen the benefits of learning about the metric system. It is a way of measuring and learning a universal measurement system. Constant and consistent changes will need to be made in order for a full conversion. I have had students not see the necessity to learn such concepts, but when it affects their livelihood it will become more of a necessity to them. The metric system is a simple concept that can be applied and implemented in schools, cooking, farming, sports, and so much more, but a mindset change will have to occur in order for it to happen. Small steps are needed for this to work. As an educator it may be the first time a student has even heard about the metric system.
2023
The winners of the 2023 (7th) round of USMA (now the Kevlin–Jordan) Scholarship and Non-Student Awards have been selected by the USMA Awards Committee (Elizabeth Benham, Mark Henschel, Don Jordan, Henry Knoepfle, and Don Hillger). The number of applicants for the 2 awards were 458 and 44 for the Scholarship and Non-Student Awards, respectively. Application, evaluation, and judging took place mainly at the USMA Board of Directors meeting on 17 May. A subset of the applicants were first chosen as finalists, followed by further selections of the award winners in both categories from among the finalists. The winners were contacted to provide a summary highlighting what they have accomplished and future plans to promote the metric system in the USA.
Deen Alam-Wadlington
Cumming, GA
First Place, Student Scholarship, $2500
As I move forward in my academic and professional journey, I am committed to continuing my efforts to promote the usage of the SI (metric units) in US society. I have several plans to further promote metric awareness and proper usage in the future.
Firstly, I plan to collaborate with other individuals and organizations that share my passion for the metric system. By working together, we can combine our resources and knowledge to create a more comprehensive and impactful metric awareness campaign. I will seek out partnerships with scientific organizations, educational institutions, and industry associations to help spread the message about the importance of the metric system.
Secondly, I will focus on creating more engaging and interactive educational materials on the metric system. While traditional materials such as posters and pamphlets are useful, I believe that interactive digital media and social media campaigns can help to reach a wider audience. I plan to create videos, podcasts, and social media posts that break down complex metric concepts into easily digestible content that appeals to a broad range of individuals.
Thirdly, I plan to continue organizing workshops and events that promote metric awareness. As a college student, I have access to a variety of resources and networks that I can leverage to create influential events. I will work with my fellow students to organize metric-themed events on campus, such as guest lectures, demonstrations, and competitions, to help promote metric usage and awareness.
Finally, I will seek out opportunities to incorporate metric usage into my future career as a mechanical engineer. I believe that engineers have a unique responsibility to promote the use of the metric system in their work, as the design and construction of machines and systems often involve precise measurements and calculations. By advocating for the use of metric units in my work, and by working with other engineers to promote metric awareness, I hope to have a tangible influence on the future of metric usage in US society.
Overall, I believe that promoting the usage of the SI (metric units) in US society is essential for advancing scientific and technological progress, promoting global unity and understanding, and reducing confusion and errors in measurements. Through a combination of collaboration, education, events, and advocacy, I hope to make a meaningful contribution to this important cause.
Giyoon Kim
Suwanee, GA
Second Place, Student Scholarship, $1000
While I am proud of my past accomplishments in promoting the use of SI units in US society, I understand that there is still much work to be done. As such, I have a number of future plans to further promote metric awareness and proper usage in the US.
One of my main priorities is to continue advocating for the adoption of the metric system at the federal level. I plan to work with lawmakers and other stakeholders to introduce legislation that would require the use of SI units in all official documents, public signage, and other contexts. This would help to create a more consistent and standardized approach to measurement in the US and make it easier for individuals and businesses to use the metric system in their daily lives.
In addition to legislative efforts, I plan to focus on promoting metric education in schools and universities. I believe that the earlier individuals are exposed to the metric system, the more comfortable and confident they will be in using it. As such, I plan to work with educators and school administrators to develop and implement curricula that prioritize metric education and make it more accessible and engaging for students.
Another priority for me is to expand the reach and influence of my existing projects and initiatives. For example, I plan to create additional resources and tools that make it easier for individuals to convert between metric and US customary units. I also plan to continue collaborating with community groups and organizations to host events and workshops that promote metric awareness and proper usage.
Overall, my future plans to promote the usage of the metric system in US society are focused on creating a more connected, accurate, and globally competitive nation. I am excited to continue working towards this goal and to have a meaningful influence in the years to come.
Patrick Smallwood
Chapin, SC
First Place, Non-Student Award, $500
My goal as it relates to the usage of the SI with K-12 students is to make the application of the metric system and units routine for students. When students arrive in my classroom, most have heard of and have used metric units in their classroom studies. In my classes, the expectation for students is that we always utilize the metric system in all of our math, science, and engineering practices. As students explore more and more units of the metric system, applying these units to their everyday work becomes much more innate. As my students display their use of metric units in their research and science projects, they have received praise from the scientific community. Several of my students have won metric awards and have gone on to present their work at state, national, and international science competitions.
Each year, I encounter a new group of young science and engineering students and I continue to willingly accept the challenge of teaching them the practice of utilizing the metric system in their daily work. By requiring my students to exclusively use metric units in their written and oral work, these students develop the habits that are used/accepted in the worldwide scientific community. This SI habit-of-mind will benefit my students in both their future college and career endeavors.
Janine Malkin
Tucson, AZ
Second Place, Non-Student Award, $250
As a third grade self-contained gifted classroom teacher, I teach metric units as measurement math lessons in both capacity and linear measurements. My students know the US standard measurements are commonly used (feet, inches, cups, quarts, etc.) They are so surprised at how much more intuitive and how much easier using metric measurements are because they are based on tens like our counting system. Metric measurements are so much more elegant in math solutions! The prefixes mean something and can be understood as soon as you know the key. Kilo is 1000 and so on!
We also did a science project in conjunction with MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) that uses ocean floats to track temperatures in our world’s oceans. Our ‘Lineweaver Lions Afloat’ float was deployed off New Zealand in November 2022 and we tracked data for ocean temperatures using degrees Celsius. The degrees Celsius were calculated to tenths and hundredths of degrees. This made sense to my students and they could see the changes and make inferences to the state of our oceans with regard to real global warming trends they read about and heard about on the news.
I will continue to teach metric measurements as part of math and use them in science-related tasks so my students in summer STEAM 2023 can become more familiar with the system most of the people on the planet use on a daily basis. Our students need to be well versed in the units used across the globe for their endeavors in research and career advancement.
USMA/Blake Family Foundation metric award recipients
2022
The winners of the 2022 (6th) round of USMA/Blake Family Scholarship and Non-Student Awards have been selected by the USMA Awards Committee (Elizabeth Benham, Mark Henschel, Don Jordan, and Don Hillger). The number of applicants for the 2 awards were 491 and 30 for the Student Scholarship and Non-Student Awards, respectively. Application, evaluation, and judging took place over 3 months, during which a subset of the applicants were chosen as finalists, followed by further selections of the award winners in both categories from among the finalists. The winners were contacted to provide a summary highlighting what they have accomplished and future plans to promote the metric system in the USA:
Hrishika Roychoudhury
Charlotte, NC
First Place, Student Scholarship, $2500
Hrishika Roychoudhury is a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Neuroscience. She is a student researcher, STEM coach, and entrepreneur. Pursuing science research for over 7 years, she has completed and presented her research on Biotechnology and Nanoparticles at many national and international conferences. As a student entrepreneur, she co-founded SkyeLabs Innovation Inc. pioneering EcoGel, a novel environmentally-sustainable biopolymer aerogel used in Aerospace and Aviation.
Deeply passionate about STEM education and research and the use of the metric system, she works to promote the usage of the SI (metric units) in student research and STEM education. She worked as one of the Editors-in-Chief of Broad Street Scientific, the official research journal at her high school, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, where she required that all papers turned in must use SI units. As a Science and Technology Editor of AK Chronicle, she has written articles on the benefits of the metric system and how to use it properly, as well as encouraged other authors to use it more readily in their work. In all her research, presentations as well as published research papers, she uses metric measurements. She plans on hosting events, publishing podcasts and using social media outlets to promote metric usage, tutoring metric system use at local science fairs, as well as contacting her state legislators about supporting the metric system in legislation.
Nicole Iwuala
Ovilla, TX
Second Place, Student Scholarship, $1000
Nicole Iwuala is a freshman at the University of Texas at Dallas. During high school, she was part of a project aimed at creating a low-cost knee-ankle-foot-orthotic brace with growth mechanisms, interchangeability, and 3D-printed parts. To create 3D printed parts, it was necessary to build a 3D model. The project team switched from using non-SI units to SI (metric) after learning that 3D printers work with that specific measurement system. As a result, the filament pieces were printed at the appropriate size.
The project inspired her to continue to develop 3D modeling skills in a design club at college. The more they practiced, the more complex objects were designed. She found that using the metric system allowed highly-detailed work without using too many irrational numbers for measurement. She plans to transfer these skills to other metric-based activities such as woodworking, laser cutting, and sewing.
Edward Kinch
Port Monmouth, NJ
First Place, Non-Student Award, $500
Edward Kinch teaches physics at Holmdel High School, and from the first week students are not allowed to address any distances, speeds, weights, etc. in any measurement units except SI units. Kinch’s curriculum includes exploring the history of the metric system, its advantages, and the United States’ rocky road to conversion to the metric system. His students are required to identify and make conversions when necessary. Kinch injects humor (the Mega Million jackpot should be 1 million million dollars, and has made a metric clock that we use with 10 divisions instead of 12, Simpsons metric system, etc.) to make the prospect of using the metric system seem pain-free and not something to be dreaded. According to Kinch, the metric system should not be thought of as something obscure, difficult, or unnecessary – its use has real world implications and consequences. Students are encouraged to know why the concept was developed, and how it will be accomplished, all the while trying to keep it fun and entertaining (injecting humor whenever possible), but at the same time not treating it as frivolous. In Kinch’s experience, when students are enjoying the what and why, it is much easier for them to make the effort to learn it, and use it, which is the point.
Kinch plans to continue to educate his students to not only understand the advantages of the metric system and how it works, but to use it whenever possible in the proper context. Kinch continually looks for new ways to promote the metric system, especially identifying risky issues and negative consequences that occur with not using it (as opposed to just the advantages of using it).
2021
The winners of the 2021 (5th) round of USMA/Blake Family Scholarship and Non-Student Awards have been selected by the USMA Awards Committee (Mark Henschel, Elizabeth Benham, Don Jordan, and myself). The number of applicants for the 2 awards were 1091 and 39 for the Student Scholarship and Non-Student awards, respectively. The judging took about 3 months, during which a subset of the applicants were chosen as finalists, followed by further selections of the first and second place winners in both categories from among the finalists. The winners were then contacted to provide information on what they have done and what they plan to do to promote the metric system in the USA.
Gavin Peduzzi
New Market, MD
First Place, Student Scholarship, $2500
• We have our family thermostat set to Celsius. • I designed my project for the USA Skills local design competition in metric. I took third place in the competition and was awarded the chance to compete at the state level (cancelled due to COVID-19). • My friends and I have spoken to the Career and Technology instructor that runs the local Architectural program for our County School System. He agreed to have the students perform one project using metric. We designed a bridge in metric. • I sent an editorial comment letter to our local paper (Frederick News Post) for print. I addressed the pro’s (and some con’s) to having a metric system here in Frederick County, MD. • I have tried to convince my fitness gym to switch their new dumbbell weights to metric. They have indicated “no” for now, but they did purchase a few lighter dumbbells with both imperial and metric units.
I have made many efforts to spread the use of metric in my area. It is hard to get people to switch to metric when they’re already so used to the current measurements. I will continue to do what I can to make metric units more common and I hope that the United States could switch to metric in my lifetime. Thanks again so much, Gavin.
Maura Spain
Beloit, WI
Second Place, Student Scholarship, $1000
After my first chemistry lab in September of 2018, I chose to metricate my personal life. It seemed natural that water should boil at 100 degrees and freeze at 0, and I was shocked that it took me so long to come to the realization. I’m an artist, so I began stating my painting measurements and stretching my canvases in centimeters rather than inches. I applied to art schools this fall, and my entire portfolio was stated in metric units. As an avid baker, I bought a kitchen scale and began baking in the metric system.
I got some friends and my entire family on board, even my grandparents. We metricated our tape measures, thermostats, and thermometers, and buy other metric products whenever we can. I’ve written to the brands of some of my facial products, praised them for their proper use of the metric system, and encouraged my friends to do the same. My biggest accomplishment is getting a group of classmates to write to our Wisconsin senators and congressmen in support of metric legislation on national Metric week this year.
I’ll continue to use the metric system in my artwork as I go off to art school – it will be especially useful if I choose to study abroad in Paris. I hope to write an article for Art Papers, a publication for artists, and explain the benefits of going metric in the art community. I’ve even been noodling on a few ideas for a piece I could make to go along with it. Of course, as I go off to college, I will continue purchasing metric products, I’ll promote metrication among the new friends I make, and remain on the lookout for improper metric notation. I have so much faith that our country will one day fully switch to the metric system, and there will be so much time and money saved because of it!
Heather Scoville
Ladora, IA
First Place, Non-Student Award, $500
As a high school science teacher, I use metric on a daily basis and teach my students to use it as well. We start by learning the prefixes and how to convert between them. All of the tools and equipment in my lab are metric, and I teach them how much easier it is to understand the metric standards.
I hope to purchase more equipment and tools for my students with some of the prize money. I would also like to have a celebration on Metric Day (10/10) with games and fun activities (much like the math teacher does for Pi Day). Once my students learn about the metric system and how easy it is to use it, they really like it. I am hopefully helping future generations appreciate the metric system and give them a good understanding of how to use it.
Rickey Torrence II
Riverdale, MD
Second Place, Non-Student Award, $250
At the start of the year in my 9th grade Conceptual Physics course, we always begin with an activity to address the importance of measurement and the need for a unified system of measurement in order to communicate information between people and entities. Sometimes, I have the students all measure the length of the classroom with their own feet and a certain amount of water by the handful and then we compare results to see all of the different answers to measure the same thing. Then, I introduce the metric system of measurement and the convenience of moving between units compared to the current system of measurement in the US.
After that, we read a variety of articles on the costs, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of the US switching to the metric system versus keeping our current system. This week-long activity concludes with a student-led Socratic discussion over the decision of whether or not we should switch the measurement system, and every year I’m surprised to hear a new idea, question or concern. It’s great to hear them sharing their informed opinions on a low-stakes topic in order to prepare them for being better communicators on more serious matters in the future. While we chat about switching to the metric system, my students are also thinking beyond their local brains and instead considering the impact of this type of decision on a global scale.
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