Hopkinton Police Department: *VIDEO* Hopkinton High School Students Create Award-Winning Invention In Partnership With Hopkinton Police

Press release from the Hopkinton Police Department:

Leah Comins

September 14, 2021

*Click here to view the video.*

HOPKINTON — Hopkinton Police Chief Joseph Bennett and Hopkinton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol Cavanaugh are pleased to share that two Hopkinton High School students have created an award-winning invention in partnership with their local police department.

Nicolette Buonora and Lauren Strechay, sophomores at Hopkinton High School, have recently been recognized multiple times around the world for their Battery Swap invention, which is a result of their collaboration with the Hopkinton Police Department.

Both were students in Hopkinton High School teacher Doug Scott’s Engineering and Robotics course during the 2020-21 school year. Through his course, students work to identify a problem first responders face and invent a new solution.

The program evolved from work Scott has previously done with Lemelson-MIT, a program that promotes invention and the early stages of entrepreneurship among college students. Upon joining the staff at Hopkinton High School, Scott incorporated invention education — a teaching approach that focuses on identifying problems and developing solutions through the design and prototyping process — into his curriculum.

“I am very proud to have this program at Hopkinton High School and very impressed with what Nicolette and Lauren have achieved,” Dr. Cavanaugh said. “Frequently we review our curricula to determine what academic programming we may want to grow. It was determined several years ago that Engineering and Robotics instruction was one of those areas. Mr. Scott’s program has grown exponentially since then, and now we have students competing at state, national and international levels. Anytime the public schools can work with our town partners, it’s a great opportunity for our students. Mr. Scott’s project connecting students with first responders in our community truly is a model project.”

The Design Process

Through the partnership with the Hopkinton Police Department, students began the project by interviewing police officers to determine problems that existed in their work.

“We really look forward to working with Mr. Scott’s students each year,” Chief Bennett said. “Our school resource officers are well-integrated into the schools, but this program helps involve our officers who maybe aren’t engaging with the students as often. We welcome every opportunity to work with the community and I’m very grateful to Mr. Scott for inviting us to participate in the project each year.”

The Solution

An Award-Winning Invention

This press release was produced by the Hopkinton Police Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.