Clean Tech Competition for 2018 draws record number of high school teams

The Center for Science Teaching and Learning has had a record-breaking year. High school students from 547 teams and 39 nations are participating in its 2018 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition. For the first time, the top team will attend and present at The World Congress on Climate Change Conference in Rome, Italy this September. At a time when the U.S. continues to lag behind in STEM-related studies, this unique competition shows that students from around the nation and the world are interested in these subjects.
“The fact that so many teams have applied to participate in this year’s competition validates the importance of STEM in the U.S. and abroad,” said Dr. Ray Ann Havasy, director of CSTL. “STEM education is critical for the future and giving young people new opportunities. The winners of our Competition are inspiring youth who are a shining example for other young people from around the world. Having our winning team attend the World Congress on Climate Change Conference in Italy is a unique opportunity for them to grow and be part of the efforts to understand climate challenge as well as identify solutions.”
CSTL has launched a fundraising campaign page on its website where people, organizations and businesses are encouraged to support these inspiring young people and their attendance to this international climate conference. Support for the endeavors of these youth demonstrates a commitment to making the world healthier and cleaner. It is these young people who need your support as their generation will be responsible for developing technology and solutions to address climate change and other environmental challenges the world is currently facing.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to support the endeavors of these youth and their appearance at The World Congress on Climate Change Conference are encouraged to visit www.cstl.org/clean-tech-donation.
The Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition is a unique international research and design challenge competition for pre-college youth that encourages scientific understanding of real-world environmental and energy use challenges that is focused on this year’s theme: “Solving Climate Change.” Ten (10) finalist teams of high school students will present their concepts and innovations to address specific problems associated with climate change before designing a clean technology solution to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, help reduce carbon footprints and create a solution for overcoming the problem they identified.
This year’s final competition will once again take place at Stony Brook University on Thursday, July 12, where it will culminate with remarkable displays and student teams’ presentations of their solutions to environmental challenges that will be followed by the announcement the top three winning teams. The final competition is also be open to the public, this will give them a chance to meet these incredible young scientific minds. The finalists will vie for over $30,000 in cash prizes and the winning team will continue its relationship with a professional serving as a mentor who will advise and assist the first place team in furthering its climate change work and education.
For more information about CSTL, visit the Clean Tech Competition website at www.cleantechcompetition.org or call (516) 764-0045.