HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — A drug-rehab center for teenagers on Maui and a submarine moored on the north bank of the Arkansas River are among the projects taken on by more than 1,700 students from six states gathered here this week.

They are competing for prizes in a program that rewards them for using technology as a way to better their communities.

The Environmental and Spatial Technology Initiative, which is hosting a three-day conference at the Hot Springs Convention Center, gives students a chance to partner with business and government to improve their communities, said Edward Darbonne, EAST Initiative president.

By engaging students in an educational environment steeped in emerging technologies and focused on self-direction and community service, students can achieve more and become lifelong learners and problem solvers, Darbonne said.

Huey Johnson, a senior from Kihei High School on Maui, manned his booth and answered questions about projects he and his EAST team members have been working on, including a computer-animated model of a teen drug-rehabilitation center.

"The only teen rehab center we had closed; a friend suggested this project and I came up with the design," he said. "Research shows that family intervention and support helps teens recover from addictive diseases." With no other facility of the type on the island, such a center would save money for family members who would otherwise have to fly for visits.

Johnson said he met with the mayor about making the project a reality. "He's very interested and he discussed allocating land for the project," Johnson said.

Barry Graf, a 13-year-old EAST student at North Heights Junior High School in Texarkana, designed a virtual tour of the USS Razorback, which won first-place in the national virtual reality competition.

"Not many people know we have a submarine in Arkansas," said Graf. "Now they'll be able to get on the Internet and look at it for free." Graf's work will be featured on two Web sites: The Maritime Museum and the North Little Rock Visitors Bureau.

The Awards of Excellence, based on standards such as student growth, community service, collaboration and the innovative and successful use of technology, went to Kekaulike High School in Makawao; and Arkansas' Monticello High School, and Eureka Springs High School.

Horace Mann Science Magnet Middle School in the Little Rock School District won The Founder's Award.