Milken Community High School Students Win First Prize in National Space Competition

Business Wire, Oct 29, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- Milken Community High School seniors Michael Hakimi and Talia Nour-Omid were awarded first place in the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award at the 2007 Wirefly X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Sunday, October 28, 2007.

The Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award is the world's premier student prize for innovative aerospace concepts. This award challenges high school students ages 13-18 to develop a new, innovative concept to benefit the personal spaceflight industry (commercial human spaceflight) within the next 50 years.

Milken's Head of School, Dr. Rennie Wrubel, said, "Science is a center of excellence for us at Milken. For Talia and Michael to be recognized as the first winners of such a prestigious science and innovation award shows us that the work we are doing here may contribute to the changing landscape of our world."

Hakimi and Nour-Omid proposed to construct a pair of glasses that could non-invasively measure a space tourist's vital signs, such as temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and blood sugar level, while in space. This compact solution would substantially reduce the weight of cargo on board and, as a result, the cost of space flight.

Both are students of the Mitchell Academy of Science and Technology at Milken Community High School. The Academy's premier program is a three-year, intensive, graduate-level science research opportunity for students beginning in the 10th grade. Students are mentored by nationally and internationally recognized scientists and engage in original research that is often published.

"Michael and Talia are the epitome of the mission of Milken's Mitchell Academy of Science and Technology. Their desire for excellence, commitment, and the ability to work as a team are representative of what we strive to develop in all graduates of our program and institution," said Roger Kassebaum, Director of the Mitchell Academy of Science and Technology at Milken.