They have seen the future and it is energy efficient

Roadway gridlock is not a problem for Rosenk residents in the year 2050.

Using a technologically advanced mass-transit unit that extends its arches across Rosenk, a simulated city created by students at Sandy Valley Middle School, residents can be shot across town through tubes in seconds. The transit system eliminates pollution from traffic -- an effort the city's engineers were praised for.

This weekend those engineers -- Bill Burke, Emily Rosequist and Jessica Kranz, all eighth graders -- are in Phoenix to present their design of Rosenk (pronounced Roh-sen-kay) in a regional competition.

Should they place first among students in the region, they will be sent to the finals in Washington during National Engineers Week, Feb. 20-26.

National Engineers Week's Future City Competition, in its eighth year, challenges seventh and eighth grade students to design a future city and build a scale model of a section of it.

The contest introduces students to engineering through practical applications of math, science and technology. This was the first year Las Vegas Valley students participated.

Sandy Valley students won the local competition Jan. 8 at Clark County Government Center. Coming in second were students from Hyde Park Middle School, who designed the city Simtopia and also are competing in Phoenix this weekend.

The teams, assisted by a teacher and engineering mentor, designed the cities on SimCity 2000, a computer game in which participants create a city based on available funds, natural resources and other variables.

Each city had a minimum population of 50,000.

The cities were judged on cost-effective energy use; low pollution, property taxes and crime levels; and the number of schools and universities. Crime levels are determined by the number of police stations.

Students used actual blueprints based on their city designs to build the scale models, which had to include a moving part and be self-contained.

Essays defending the city's design and describing a city on Mars in the year 2030 were also required.

"The essays were very creative," Wendy Fenner, a civic engineer and local competition coordinator, said. "Students came up with things you would never think of as an adult."

Twenty-five engineers met with students for an hour each week to discuss building-related issues such as the basics of building cities, an engineer's role in society, who builds roads, how water and power are distributed and how zoning is determined, Fenner said.

Although this is the area's first year in the competition, the projects were impressive, Fenner said. "No two cities were alike. They had ideas ... that I think we ought to be implementing." Among the top ideas was using methane from chicken droppings as a city's main energy source.

"Our main purpose was to provide a city that was pollution free and attractive to the average person," said Erik Mateljan, math and science teacher at Sandy Valley who worked with the students.

Rosenk recycles its water by separating it into its two components -- hydrogen and oxygen -- then using them as different forms of energy. Nuclear fusion and solar energy are also energy sources.

By using fiber optics for street lights the city needs only one energy source to light it.

Running on air pressure, the mass-transit unit shoots residents in a specialized car across the city. The students' model used a bike pump to create the air pressure.

By building a tri-level sports facility, the city met its recreational needs while combating urban sprawl. The facility offers tennis and basketball courts and a golf course, that connects directly to an office building.

"They have a whole new understanding of the basics of a city," Mateljan said of his students.

He said he wasn't surprised Sandy Valley students took first place. "I knew that they put in the time. They were working well as a team. We were pretty confident that they were going to be successful."

Simtopia, the city created by three seventh grade students at Hyde Park Middle School -- Alex Martinez, Marcello Coluccio and Matthew Rodenbeck -- also offered its share of innovative ideas.

The city is composed of a number of themed islands, such as Family Island, which is based on a futuristic Del Webb design; University Island; Industrial Island; and Golden Island, a futuristic Sun City. Transportation moves through waterways, on bridges and underwater subways.

Although the projects were time consuming, Fenner says she is looking forward to next year's competition and is hoping at least 25 middle schools statewide will participate so that Nevada can form its own region and send its winners to Washington. Ten schools participated this year.

Among the judges this year were North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon, Las Vegas Valley Water District General Manager Pat Mulroy, Las Vegas Assistant City Manager Doug Selby, Clark County Public Works Deputy Director Urb Livengood and Las Vegas Director of Communications David Riggleman.

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