Through school closures, a pandemic and civil unrest, a trio of Center Grove student continued to promote their idea of a material that could provide warmth for low-income residents.
They first came up with it in September, and quickly submitted the idea in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest. Among tens of thousands of ideas that were submitted nationwide, the idea of Center Grove High School seniors Mahek Agrawal, Madison Hammill and Athulya Nair rose to the top, gaining status as a state finalist in the contest, earning funds for technology expenses, and eventually leaving them in the running for designation as a national winner after being named one of 20 National Finalists.
The national winners were announced during a live video Thursday, and included Dougherty Valley High School in California, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Fairfield Senior High School in Ohio, Downtown Doral Charter Upper School in Florida and Omro High School in Wisconsin. Those schools will receive $100,000 in Samsung technology and classroom resources, according to Samsung.
For making it to the national finals, Center Grove High School received $50,000 in Samsung technology and classroom resources.
Under the guidance of Andrea Teevan, who teaches the high school’s Project Lead the Way biomedical science class, the students developed the idea for an insulating material that can be used as a blanket for homeless people or as a sealant for chilly mobile homes.
The Solve for Tomorrow contest, now in its 10th year, challenged sixth through 12th graders to come up with science, technology, engineering and math concepts to solve community issues, according to a Samsung news release.
Although Center Grove High School was not declared a national winner, the journey was in no way a disappointment, Nair said.
“Throughout the entire program, we were all really excited about the possibility of creating something that could be implemented in the community,” Nair said.
“We ultimately were really excited about the progression of our product and seeing how well it could perform in different circumstances. We’re really proud of ourselves, and the progress we made from the first round to this round was really good. By combining our minds and experiences from classes, we’ve proven to ourselves that we can do what we put our minds to.”
The next step is to try and get a patent for the product, after which they will look to distribute it in local communities and later, hopefully, to other areas in need, she said.
The recognition the students received for the product was beyond what anyone could’ve imagined, Teevan said.
“We’ve exceeded even our own expectations of how far we would make it,” Teevan said. “As these three enter the next phase of their lives, the future is so bright with young minds like these leading our next generation. I expect nothing but big things. As they move on to their collegiate years, I see them doing big things for the greater good of the community.”
