By Alia Wilson

SANTA CRUZ -- Man-made lightning, medical robotics and a hydrogen fuel cell car thrilled more than 300 middle and high school students from across Santa Cruz and Monterey counties Saturday during the MESA Day Preliminary Competition at UC Santa Cruz.

Students competed in more than 20 different math, engineering and science events throughout the day at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering. University faculty and business and industry volunteers from Cisco Systems, the city of Santa Cruz and Bay Federal Credit Union, among others judged the events.

Organized by MESA at the UCSC Educational Partnership Center, the event aims to increase college attendance rates across the region and to prepare more students for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and careers. Working with their MESA teacher adviser, students follow curricula designed to reinforce state math and science standards.

Grace Patino, a math teacher at Watsonville High School, said this was her 16th year participating and every year is fun.

"This year we had about 41 students participate. We barely had enough room for all of the projects and us on the bus," Patino said. "They're a good group that works well together, and although they may end up competing against each other, they also help each other, which is what I like the most."

The hands-on MESA projects allowed students to demonstrate essential skills and concepts ranging from trebuchets and model hearts to civil structures and Web design.

MESA Program Director Bronwyn Moreno said this year brought the most participants to date for the event, with 17 schools represented. This year also featured a new Windmill Energy Challenge competition, where students built devices to capture and use wind energy.

"The new project is really exciting and very relevant to the world today and teaches students about real-life applications," Moreno said. "The goal of this event is to show students the different possibilities out there in terms of choosing a career path, and for them to get excited about math and science."

Terry Schalk, UCSC professor of physics and member of the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics' Outreach Program, electrified students in the Baskin Engineering Lecture Hall during a demonstration of the Tesla Coil, a piece of equipment that produces high-voltage sparks.

"It's all about showing people that science can be fun," said Schalk, who has been doing the presentation for 10 years. "We have showed the Tesla Coil to 20,000 students now. Our outreach effort is not just about the audience but for students to identify with the project. We bring some of our own students in so the younger ones can see that they are just like them."

Omar Melgoza, a junior at Watsonville High School who has been participating in the competition since he was in middle school, said being able to meet and learn from the students around him is what brings him back.

"It's a nice experience to see all the different schools. We learn a lot from them," Melgoza said. "I like winning, but I also enjoy being able to show off my hard work. I'm already planning next year's project."