EVERETT, WA — Fluke Corporation announces the finalists in the Fluke Connect Student Contest, which tests the skills, innovation and business application of student teams enrolled in two and four year colleges, universities, trade and tech schools and apprenticeship programs.

The finalist teams are:

• Brigham Young University Women in Manufacturing Team, whose project is live testing the temperature on friction bit joining welds.
• California Polytechnic State University Power and Energy Society, for conducting a commercial energy audit.
• University of Kentucky Solar Car Team, for live testing performance parameters on a solar car.
• San Jacinto College North, for improving the efficiency of charging AC systems.
• Western Iowa Technology School, for troubleshooting intermittent electrical issues in wind turbines.

A panel of six judges evaluated the teams on their technical skills, innovation and creativity, the business value of their projects, and the presentation skills of the team. The judges were Mike Bacidore, editor, Control Design magazine; Martin Lorton, blogger, solar power and electronic measurement equipment; Glen Mazur, author, trainer and former department chair of Joliet Jr. College. Judges from Fluke Corporation were Thomas Anderson, senior software engineer; Leah Friberg, education and public affairs manager; and Melissa Hammerle, mobility solutions business unit manager.

Final projects are due Dec. 5 when they will be evaluated by the same panel of judges as well as voted on by the public on Facebook. The winners, who will be announced on Dec. 15, will be determined by which team made the biggest impact using the Fluke Connect system, with 75 percent of the decision based on the evaluation by the panel of judges and 25 percent on the public vote.

Three members of the first place team and their adviser will receive a paid trip to Fluke headquarters in north Seattle to spend a day meeting with Fluke executive and engineering leadership, tour Fluke engineering and manufacturing and see the Boeing manufacturing facility and Future of Flight Aviation Center next door. The school’s department will win $1,000 worth of Fluke tools, and the Fluke Connect tools used in the contest submission, worth approximately $2,500.

For information on Fluke tools and applications, visit www.fluke.com