Students Fueling the Future announced that the team they sponsored to the International Youth Fuel Cell Competition in Honolulu, Hawaii, returned with honors for their engineering design in the fuel cell timepiece project.

Trey Burke and Bobby Clemmons from South Brunswick High School were one of the teams selected to represent the United States at the four day event.

They competed in three categories with high school students from around the world, working alongside teams from Canada, India, Japan, Russia, and Hawaii.

The Burke/Clemmons team project was a volcano that erupted when the fuel cell mechanism started a physical reaction that produced a 35-foot-tall spout at precisely one minute and 42 seconds.

A judging team of distinguished engineers from around the world selected the volcano mechanism to receive first place for engineering design. The project also won a third-place bronze medal for accuracy with the actual movement occurring third closest to the two-minute requisite.

Students Fueling the Future is a unique educational program that encourages students to use their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills while engaging in hands-on projects.

"I am so very pleased that our team of students could participate in an international competition and gain such prestigious honors for engineering," says, Jayne Howard, executive director for Students Fueling the Future.

"When we began our fuel cell education program five years ago, we could only hope to see such progress with our students as they plan for careers in science, technology, and engineering."

Burke and Clemmons do not have much time to relax after celebrating the rewards and recognition produced by their creativity and hard work at the international competition. They are busy preparing for the Students Fueling the Future fourth annual high school fuel cell championship event, which will be held in Durham where students from across the state are registered to compete Dec. 9.