Challenge: Climate Change Adaptations
When: Saturday, January 14, 2023 from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (times approximate)
Where: Rutgers University – Piscataway Campus

For years, PMINJ volunteers have supported Future City, a student outreach activity in New Jersey that
brings together the education community, local engineers and engineering firms and various professional
societies. PMINJ supports Future City on its mission to advance STEM learning in Middle Schools.
Some of you have already volunteered directly with Future
City
or through the chapter. If you have already registered, or are still interested in volunteering, please
let
us know so we can coordinate the PMINJ presence at the competition. PMINJ will be participating in
several
ways, and we’d like to make sure we have representation at appropriate times and places throughout the
day.
Please send your interest to
or
.
Our presence includes:
-
Represent PMINJ at “Meet the Professionals” session. In a Career Fair of sorts, engage
students one-on-one
at the PMINJ table to answer their questions about project management and what it might mean to them
in the future. Also engage with them to help them identify that the Future City project started their
career as a project manager.
- Serve as a presentation judge, scoring students’ models and oral presentations on campus at
Rutgers.
Competition Day runs from 8 to 4 with breakfast, lunch, and scheduled breaks. Judges are invited,
welcome, and encouraged to spend the whole day, but if you can’t, Future City will work with you to enable
you to judge for those hours you can provide.
-
Present Project Management 101 to event participants. Chapter members have been assigned to
preset to all students in small groups as they rotate through the learning events of the day. The PowerPoint
presentation identifies the project management phases that the students should have experienced to deliver their
projects for the competition.
See additional details from the FutureCity Coordinator
Pictures from the 2020 competition.
See pictures of PMINJ participation in past years
Be a Mentor:
- What is a Mentor? – As a Mentor your job will be to coordinate with the team’s teacher to provide advice, guidance, and technical assistance as your students work on the various project deliverables. Much can be done virtually.
- Help students stay on task, focus on “big picture”, perfect submissions, polish their presentation and build their models.
- Flexible commitment – typically 20 – 40 hours (much virtual) between now and January.
- Training guides and other support are available
For more information about your role as a mentor go to: https://futurecity.org/participants/mentors
- Where are Mentors Needed? - Mentors are needed at Middle Schools throughout New Jersey. For the current list of schools, and more information on mentoring, contact: Jacqueline Nam, at mentor@futurecitynj.org
- Deadline – Mentors are Urgently Needed for 18+ Middle schools throughout New Jersey. Respond immediately to get paired with the Middle School of your choice. It’s never too late to start supporting a school.
- What if I don’t have time now to Mentor? – No problem! Other volunteer opportunities also exist for Judging starting remotely November 10th and at the January 14, 2023 Competition Day – contact: Andrea Almeida, at judging@futurecitynj.org or Silvia Santos, at competition_day@futurecitynj.org to learn more.
- May I Share this Invitation – Absolutely! The need is urgent. Please share this with friends/coworkers who may interested in helping out between now and January 14th.
For more information on mentoring, contact: Mentor Coordinator: Jacqueline Nam - mentor@futurecitynj.org
Mentors Needed in Following Locations
|
North NJ
|
Butler
|
Morristown
|
Pompton Lakes (virtual)
|
Dumpont
|
New Providence (virtual)
|
Ramsey
|
Fort Lee
|
New Vernon
|
|
Central NJ
|
Iselin
|
Somerset
|
Watchung
|
Manchester
|
Oceanport
|
|
South NJ
|
Cream Ridge
|
|
|
Be a Judge
Judging coordinator: Andrea Almeida - judging@futurecitynj.org
-
Remote judging of essays and other deliverables start November 10th.
- Additional Judges are needed on Competition Day.
This year's Challenge:
Choose a climate change impact and design one innovative and futuristic climate
change adaptation and one mitigation strategy to keep their residents healthy and
safe.
Climate Change: Today’s cities are designed for the long-term average temperatures and
weather patterns specific to their region. For instance, Bangor, Maine, has a fleet of
snowplows to keep the city’s roads clear, while Phoenix, Arizona, requires landlords to
supply working air conditioners to their tenants.
But climates around the world are not following past weather patterns; they are changing.
Researchers have found that the global average temperature has increased by about 1.8°F
from 1901 to 2016.1 As hard as it might be to imagine how a one- or two-degree average
increase can make a difference, we are seeing shifts in our climate and weather due to
rising temperatures.
These noticeable changes are called climate change impacts. Some climate impacts
include sea level rise, more frequent and severe heat waves, and changes in rainfall that
cause more floods or longer droughts. As these changes continue, what challenges will our
cities, society, and environment face in 100 years?
Engineers, scientists, and city planners are helping cities prepare for climate change
through adaptation and mitigation. They are designing ways we can adapt to climate
change such as making sure a city’s buildings and roads can withstand more extreme
weather and redesigning or moving neighborhoods to reduce their risk of flooding from sea -
level rise and increased floods. Engineers are also working on mitigation strategies to
reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases. They are replacing fossil fuels with
renewable energy, using environmentally sound farming methods, and developing
materials that don’t pollute or degrade the environment. What will future cities look like if
today’s cities begin to adapt to climate change and install mitigation strategies to combat
climate change?
Remember your city exists at least 100 years in the future. Your engineering
solutions should reflect this and be innovative, futuristic, and scientifically plausible.