PLTW Student Wins HP and
Scholastic 2003 Create-a-Calculator Contest
Ben Salinas1st Prize 9-12
Science Academy of South Texas
Mercedes, Texas
Ben Salinas,16, of McAllen, Texas, says he doesn't want to be a rocket scientist. But if he does decide to go into that line of work, he certainly won't have a problem.
Salinas won first place in HP/Scholastic Magazine's first "Create-a-Calculator" contest for grades 9-12 by turning in an entry for his "hp 51s" model calculator, a sophisticated device that you can read in the dark and even has its own built-in measuring device. He won a $3,000 scholarship and a pre-launch edition of HP's most powerful scientific and graphing calculator.
Salinas had several reasons for entering the contest, but one stood out.
"I did it for fun," says Salinas, a junior at the Science Academy of the South Texas Independent School District in Mercedes. He is a fan of HP's calculators, which he uses in school.
His passion for science and math is exceptional. When he heard about the contest while browsing the Internet, he jumped into the project with fervor. By the time he approached his instructor at his school for endorsement, Salinas already had a 34-page binder containing the design and details.
HP
was bowled over by the sophistication of Salinas' entry. "Ben's entry was a
major achievement for someone of his age," says Fred Valdez, HP Calculator's
general manager.
Salinas even used Autodesk, a powerful computer aided design program, on one of the school's computers, to fashion the calculator's design and display it in 3D.
Other features of the hp 51s are: "Psuedo-graphing," which allows the user to see the exact points in the graph in order to get more accurate answers, total base conversion, unit conversions and, of course, Reverse Polish Notation (RPN), HP's exclusive input mode that makes entering long equations more efficient.
What does Salinas want to do when he grows up? "I don't want to be a rocket scientist," he says. "I'm torn between electrical and mechanical engineering." He says he hopes to go to a top engineering school when he graduates next year.