Meet our 2022 STEM-In-Action Grant Recipients!

The 2021-2022 eCYBERMISSION competition has officially come to a close (if you missed our National Winners announcement, click here), but don't tell these five eCYBERMISSION teams! Every year, Regional Finalist teams are invited to apply for a STEM-In-Action grant, which provides funding for teams to continue their eCYBERMISSION project and implement it into their community. This year, our five STEM-In-Action grant teams are changing their communities all over the country, from helping detect and prevent wildfires to making walkers more kid-friendly. Meet this year's STEM-In-Action grant teams and be sure to check back this Fall as they report on the amazing work that they're doing!

Cloudy with a Chance of Robotics

Cloudy with a Chance of Robotics is fighting food insecurity with the power of technology! The team, composed of students Kashvi Bansal and Rishi Gajera and led by Team Advisor Raj Bansal, created a state-of-the-art algorithm to help food banks sort food, communicate nutritional information, and even organize volunteers! The team will use their STEM-In-Action grant to further develop and refine their system and implement it at their local food bank.

StopFire Brigade

StopFire Brigade, composed of 7^th graders Matthew Wang and Sean Conner and led by Team Advisor Kelly McDonald, are working to put an end to wildfires in the Northeast. They invented a first-of-its-kind wildfire monitoring system that detects fires while they are still too small to be identified by traditional methods. As a result, these smaller fires can be detected and extinguished long before they grow out of control. StopFire Brigade will use their STEM-In-Action grant to improve their prototype, shrinking production costs and increasing durability while improving its circuitry.

Myco-Risers

Myco-Risers are here to restore our nation's soil, one lawn at a time. The team, made up of students Yuvaan Yellepeddy, Graham Naughton, and Aditya Nandimandalam and Team Advisor Murali Yellepeddy, are using their STEM-In-Action grant to help communicate the science of why converting traditional monoculture lawns to native plant havens is vital to the health of the soil, environment, and even people.

Resourceful Rookies

The Resourceful Rookies, made of students Joshua Diehl, Kyle Newman, and Aubrey Davis and Team Advisor Joan Patton, are working to help children with mobility issues utilize the resources they need while expressing themselves and having fun! Their solution to making walkers more kid-friendly is a customizable snap-on kit that fits on standard walkers. They'll use their STEM-In-Action grant to create more snap-on kits and provide them to kids in their local community.

River Revivers

River Revivers saw the issue of bacterial pollution in rivers and said, "We can do something about this"! The People’s Choice Award-winning team, comprised of students Milan Mishra, Margaret Hoffman, Rishab Mishra, and Ramya Puttagunta and led by Team Advisor Katy Zavesky, created a remote-controlled surface utility vehicle that uses ultraviolet light to kill toxic bacteria at the surface of lakes and rivers. They're planning to use their STEM-In-Action grant to continue improving their prototype, adding GPS, motion sensors, and additional propellers to maximize its disinfecting capacity and prevent crashes while in use.

We're so excited to see the amazing things that these five teams do with their STEM-In-Action grants. Keep an eye out for their blog features in the Fall and Spring as teams check in to report their progress!

Registration for the 2022-2023 eCYBERMISSION competition is open August 15^th. Visit www.ecybermission.com to learn more and sign up!

Faith Benner
Senior Communications and Marketing Specialist