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PCTI Students Bound for Nationals with NASA HUNCH

Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI) students have made it past the preliminary round of the NASA HUNCH competition and will be continuing on to the national level! Culinary Arts and Design & Prototyping students demonstrated great ingenuity and hard work, which earned them a place to compete among the best at the National NASA Hunch event!

Culinary Arts students Nicholas Buttacavoli, Reyna Cortes, Yarelis Perez, and Julissa Sanchez created a side dish for astronauts of the International Space Station. Their “Poached Pear with Cherry Glaze Puree” met the strict standards set forth by NASA HUNCH officials and Johnson Food Lab Scientists. Rave reviews from numerous judges ensured our students qualified to compete among the top ten teams in Houston, Texas!

Those who competed in the Design & Prototyping challenge provided innovative solutions to actual problems astronauts experience in space. Students’ designs for the Washing Machine Agitator, Disinfecting & Deodorizing System, and Collapsible Sleeping Quarters, were selected among the top designs in nation! As a result of this accomplishment, PCTI students who participated in the Design & Prototyping program have been invited to attend the Final Design Review at the Johnson Space Center.

It’s the fourth year PCTI has advanced this far in the competition. In 2016, Culinary Arts they took home the gold with their Red Pepper Puree Risotto. The winning entrée was later launched into space to be enjoyed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.



PCTI ] Engineering Technology students Alvaro Garcia (Woodland Park), Jaidah Morales, Keyur Rana (Passiac), Siddarth Rana (Clifton), and Timothy Mercurio (Hawthorne) showcase their design for sleeping quarters aboard the ISS.



Manufacturing Technology students Nelson Lopez (Paterson), Claribel Garcia (Haledon), Gabriela Garcia (Prospect Park), and Anthony Habeck (Pompton Lakes) display the actuators rendered for ISS stowage lockers.



PCTI Culinary Arts students Nicholas Buttacavoli (Hawthorne), Reyna Cortes (Passaic), Yarelis Perez (Passaic), and Julissa Sanchez (Hawthorne) present their side dish to judges at the NASA HUNCH Culinary Challenge Evaluation.