Middlesex County Academy
Encyclopedia
The Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies is a four-year comprehensive career academy college preparatory
high school
located on the campus of the Middlesex County College
in Edison
, in Middlesex County
, New Jersey
, United States. The school serves students of many diverse cultures from all over Middlesex County.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 150 students and 13 classroom teachers (on a FTE
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.54.
The Academy uses a hands-on approach to teaching students the skills that Civil and Mechanical engineers use in the workforce. Students design and create useful projects in addition to learning the basics of bridge design, beam design, and Truss analysis.
Previous projects include building a 28 feet (8.5 m) bridge out of PVC, foam, and wood, a fully working hovercraft (which is currently being redesigned), and designing a name display system for the students’ desks. All projects in the Civil/Mechanical class are fully documented and are written up in presentation quality binders.
The Electronic Engineering Curriculum starts with Procedural Programming in C++
and basic analog and digital circuits and goes into C++ with Object Oriented programming, the PIC microcontroller, Finite State Machines, and in senior year, Java programming. The ECET program has a fully equipped electrical Lab, which is used heavily throughout the four year program.
Some of the projects in the ECET Lab have included: a digital thermometer with Celsius and Fahrenheit, a circuit to display the user's birthday, and numerous C++ programs including basic game programming such as Space Invaders
.
, in which students must get an egg from the second floor of the building to a landing zone on the first floor without the egg breaking. The electrical engineering exploratory program includes boolean logic
, binary arithmetic
, and culminates in a project where students use a programmable logic device
to display their birthday on a seven-segment display.
After the 90-day period, each student writes an essay, explaining which engineering program he/she would like to be in for the remaining 3½ years of high school. The administration and engineering teachers attempt to put the students in the classes they choose, while not violating any building or fire codes for occupancy.
-type progress plans must be meticulously maintained alongside a full patent-ready documentation folder including an engineering notebook which must be dated, signed, and witnessed.
Projects in the electronic engineering track must contain both a hardware and a software portion of the project. Typically, this is satisfied using a PIC microcontroller or other similar device programmed in assembly code.
Projects in the Electronic track have included a hydrogen fuel cell
powered R/C car, an automatic door lock, a self-regulating awning, a chair with built in rumble/surround sound, automatic coupon calculator, a USB Morse Code
keyboard, an automatically adjusting light dimmer, a robotic spider, a room-mapping device, a season pass system for amusement parks similar to E-ZPass
, and a wireless parking meter system.
Projects in the Civil/Mechanical track must be approved by the instructor and generally contain no complex electronics. As such, projects are limited to things which can be built in the classroom using the available tooling.
Projects in the C/M track have included a hand operated trash compactor, a new type of whiteboard eraser, a self-cleaning rake, and a system for removing excess carbon monoxide from car exhaust using hemoglobin.
Students are also encouraged to take classes at Middlesex County College which fit into the allotted time slot. This enables students to take college classes for credit, many of which apply to both High School and College education.
with a 7-2-1 record in the 2009 regular season. They have been led by Coach Kathy McNulty since their inaugural year and have an overall record of 55-54-2 (.495 winning percentage) and 45-23-2 (.643) in division record since the Eagles joined the Gold Division in 2004. After finishing 2nd in the GMC Gold Division for the previous three years, the Academy Eagles for the 2007 Fall season were crowned Greater Middlesex County Conference Gold Division Champions.
Records By Year: (Regular Season ... Division)
2004: 11-7-1 [.611] ... 9-4-1 [.643]
2005: 9-9-0 [.500] ... 9-5-0 [.643]
2006: 11-8-0 [.579] ... 9-3-0 [.750]
2007: 11-7-0 [.611] ... 9-1-0 [.900] *Co-Division Champs*
2008: 4-14-0 [.222] ... 2-8-0 [.200]
2009: 9-9-1 [.474] ... 7-2-1 [.700]
Due to its limited sports resources, The Academy allows its students to participate in sports for their hometown high schools independently. Such students have competed in football, soccer (prior to the establishment of the team), field hockey, bowling, swimming, and fencing, among others.
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located on the campus of the Middlesex County College
Middlesex County College
Middlesex County College is a community college with its main campus located in Edison, New Jersey, United States. The two-year college serves the needs of Middlesex County, as well as surrounding communities. There are two urban campuses located in New Brunswick and Perth Amboy.The college was...
in Edison
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
, in Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States. The school serves students of many diverse cultures from all over Middlesex County.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 150 students and 13 classroom teachers (on a FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.54.
History
Founded in 2000, The Academy inaugurated a freshman class of 40 students from all over the county and had its first graduating class in 2004. During the 2010-2011 school year, The Academy underwent the process of incorporating its first AP class into the curriculum, AP English Literature and Composition, running concurrent to the existing senior English class, British Literature. The first exam was administered that year, and the first full year curriculum will begin for the senior class of 2012.Education
The major subjects of studies for four years are the following:- English: World Literature, US Literature I/II, British Literature, AP English Literature and Composition
- Mathematics: Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Finite Math, Calculus
- Lab Sciences: Environmental, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
- Social Science: World History, US History I/II
- Health and Physical Education: Phys. Ed. classes are held in the Middlesex County College Physical Education Center.
- World Language: Spanish I - III
- Engineering Major: During their freshman years, each student selects whether to study Electronic and Computer Engineering or Civil and Mechanical Engineering for the rest of their high school years.
Engineering majors
- C/M Engineering (Civil/Mechanical)
The Academy uses a hands-on approach to teaching students the skills that Civil and Mechanical engineers use in the workforce. Students design and create useful projects in addition to learning the basics of bridge design, beam design, and Truss analysis.
Previous projects include building a 28 feet (8.5 m) bridge out of PVC, foam, and wood, a fully working hovercraft (which is currently being redesigned), and designing a name display system for the students’ desks. All projects in the Civil/Mechanical class are fully documented and are written up in presentation quality binders.
- ECET Engineering (Electronic/Computer)
The Electronic Engineering Curriculum starts with Procedural Programming in C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
and basic analog and digital circuits and goes into C++ with Object Oriented programming, the PIC microcontroller, Finite State Machines, and in senior year, Java programming. The ECET program has a fully equipped electrical Lab, which is used heavily throughout the four year program.
Some of the projects in the ECET Lab have included: a digital thermometer with Celsius and Fahrenheit, a circuit to display the user's birthday, and numerous C++ programs including basic game programming such as Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
.
90-day exploratory program
In order to expose students to both engineering tracks, every student goes through a 45-day program in each of the two engineering tracks. During this exploratory program, the students do hands on experiments and are taught to think in innovative ways. Lectures include introductions to new and innovative paradigms and the consequences of paradigm shifts. A favorite of the students is the egg drop experimentEgg drop competition
The egg drop contest is an experiment usually performed by college or primary school students. Competitors typically attempt to create a device that can keep a raw chicken egg intact when dropped from a height...
, in which students must get an egg from the second floor of the building to a landing zone on the first floor without the egg breaking. The electrical engineering exploratory program includes boolean logic
Boolean logic
Boolean algebra is a logical calculus of truth values, developed by George Boole in the 1840s. It resembles the algebra of real numbers, but with the numeric operations of multiplication xy, addition x + y, and negation −x replaced by the respective logical operations of...
, binary arithmetic
Binary numeral system
The binary numeral system, or base-2 number system, represents numeric values using two symbols, 0 and 1. More specifically, the usual base-2 system is a positional notation with a radix of 2...
, and culminates in a project where students use a programmable logic device
Programmable logic device
A programmable logic device or PLD is an electronic component used to build reconfigurable digital circuits. Unlike a logic gate, which has a fixed function, a PLD has an undefined function at the time of manufacture...
to display their birthday on a seven-segment display.
After the 90-day period, each student writes an essay, explaining which engineering program he/she would like to be in for the remaining 3½ years of high school. The administration and engineering teachers attempt to put the students in the classes they choose, while not violating any building or fire codes for occupancy.
Senior project
One of the most prominent features of the Academy is Senior project. After three years of engineering education, the fourth year is devoted to a free-form project in which students must learn to manage from start to finish a full-scale engineering project. Students must either invent a new product, or add value to an existing product. Before the project starts, students complete a full patent search, and must pick a project which is different from any existing products. Students are required to give regular progress reports and must give between five and ten presentations per quarter, including seminar presentations on topics related to their projects. Accurate gantt chartGantt chart
A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts...
-type progress plans must be meticulously maintained alongside a full patent-ready documentation folder including an engineering notebook which must be dated, signed, and witnessed.
- Electronic projects
Projects in the electronic engineering track must contain both a hardware and a software portion of the project. Typically, this is satisfied using a PIC microcontroller or other similar device programmed in assembly code.
Projects in the Electronic track have included a hydrogen fuel cell
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
powered R/C car, an automatic door lock, a self-regulating awning, a chair with built in rumble/surround sound, automatic coupon calculator, a USB Morse Code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
keyboard, an automatically adjusting light dimmer, a robotic spider, a room-mapping device, a season pass system for amusement parks similar to E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
, and a wireless parking meter system.
- Civil/Mechanical projects
Projects in the Civil/Mechanical track must be approved by the instructor and generally contain no complex electronics. As such, projects are limited to things which can be built in the classroom using the available tooling.
Projects in the C/M track have included a hand operated trash compactor, a new type of whiteboard eraser, a self-cleaning rake, and a system for removing excess carbon monoxide from car exhaust using hemoglobin.
Electives
Unlike other high schools, students at the Academy can only take electives in their Junior and Senior years. The Electives taught in-house include: Spanish III, Contemporary World Studies, American Government, Creative Writing I/II, Public Speaking and Rhetoric I/II, and Technical Writing I/II.Students are also encouraged to take classes at Middlesex County College which fit into the allotted time slot. This enables students to take college classes for credit, many of which apply to both High School and College education.
Sports
The Academy introduced its first Varsity and Junior Varsity team in the sport of soccer in the 2003 Season. The Eagles most recently finished a controversial second place in the Gold Division of the Greater Middlesex ConferenceGreater Middlesex Conference
The Greater Middlesex Conference is an athletic conference comprising 33 public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County, New Jersey area. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.-Gold Division:-Blue...
with a 7-2-1 record in the 2009 regular season. They have been led by Coach Kathy McNulty since their inaugural year and have an overall record of 55-54-2 (.495 winning percentage) and 45-23-2 (.643) in division record since the Eagles joined the Gold Division in 2004. After finishing 2nd in the GMC Gold Division for the previous three years, the Academy Eagles for the 2007 Fall season were crowned Greater Middlesex County Conference Gold Division Champions.
Records By Year: (Regular Season ... Division)
2004: 11-7-1 [.611] ... 9-4-1 [.643]
2005: 9-9-0 [.500] ... 9-5-0 [.643]
2006: 11-8-0 [.579] ... 9-3-0 [.750]
2007: 11-7-0 [.611] ... 9-1-0 [.900] *Co-Division Champs*
2008: 4-14-0 [.222] ... 2-8-0 [.200]
2009: 9-9-1 [.474] ... 7-2-1 [.700]
Due to its limited sports resources, The Academy allows its students to participate in sports for their hometown high schools independently. Such students have competed in football, soccer (prior to the establishment of the team), field hockey, bowling, swimming, and fencing, among others.
Admissions
All prospective students must pass a rigorous testing procedure, including a standardized test consisting of an 11th grade level math and language arts section that lasts for 3 hours, and an interview. Prospective students are then ranked, and the highest qualifying score from each municipality is given the slot reserved for that community (each municipality in the Middlesex County has a single slot reserved for it). The remaining students are then ranked in order and the highest scoring students are selected. There are approximately 40 slots available in each incoming freshman class resulting in an average 20% acceptance rate.Administration
Core members of the school's administration are:- Paul D. Munz - Principal
- Kelly Nakielny - Guidance counselor