AKRON, Ohio, April 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its 2016 STEM Career Day, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) issued a $17,000 challenge to students in grades 6-12 to create the most deliberately over-engineered contraption (in the spirit of Rube Goldberg) and to "tag" the Goodyear name or logo on any surface. Twenty-eight teams, totaling 264 students from across northeast Ohio, accepted the call. 

The prize money is part of $52,000 in grants and scholarships that will be awarded as part of Goodyear's 17^th Annual STEM Career Day event to be held tomorrow at The University of Akron. 

"Investing early is key to attracting and retaining young innovators," said Goodyear Chief Technical Officer Joseph Zekoski. "At Goodyear, our most valuable asset is the talent and skills of our people, and STEM Career Day reflects our commitment to making STEM education accessible and exciting."

More than 2,000 students have registered with Goodyear for the day-long event, accompanied by nearly 500 parents and teachers. In addition to exploring the campus, students will interact with representatives from more than 40 local organizations, who will be hosting hands-on STEM-based activities throughout the day.

Students have also been offered speed mentoring sessions to network with professionals from a variety of industries and STEM disciplines on next steps for pursuing a career in STEM.

To learn more about Goodyear's STEM Career Day, please visit www.goodyear.com/careerday.

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 49 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear or its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

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SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company