U.S. Government Officials and Science Luminaries Celebrate the Winners of the 2014 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest
Students, teachers and principals honored in D.C. after winning a $2 million nationwide STEM education competition
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 30, 2014 /3BL Media/ – Samsung, Deputy Chief of Staff in the Department of Commerce at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Vikrum Aiyer and Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation Dr. Cora Marrett celebrated today the five grand prize winners of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a nationwide contest to raise enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education among U.S. public schools across the country. The students, teachers and principals were honored at a luncheon at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“The idea of solving for tomorrow is extremely important,” said Dr. Marrett. “The extraordinary problems that the budding scientists and engineers addressed for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition link the issues communities face with solutions to mend them, and in doing so, they give us certainty that the future will be bright.”
Throughout the day, the winning students, teachers and principals met with Senators, Congressional representatives and White House officials to introduce their innovative projects; each team showed how STEM education, and the Solve for Tomorrow competition, can be used to benefit local communities and reduce the technology gap in classrooms.
“The projects that the five grand prize winners came up with can be truly impactful in their communities and in other neighborhoods around the country. We are honored to bring representatives from the winning teams to D.C. to share their projects with U.S. government leaders and science notables,” said David Steel, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics North America. “Our hope is that through the community-based learning approach that the teams used, the Solve for Tomorrow competition sparked interest in STEM subjects to create a stronger, better world tomorrow.”
Three of the grand prize winners were chosen by a panel of judges, one was chosen by Samsung employees and one was chosen by online public voting. The five grand prize winners and their contest submission videos can be seen below; they were chosen from schools in every state across the country, and will receive more than $140,000* in technology and additional prizes from Samsung, Adobe, DIRECTV and Forbes.
G.W. Carver Middle School, Miami, FL – Old Smokey’s Dirty Secret
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/old-smokeys-dirty-secret.html
Sunburst Jr. High School, Sunburst, MT – Blowing Away Alkali
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/blowing-away-alkali.html
Oliver Street School, Newark, NJ – Guarding the Water Supply
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/guarding-the-water-supply.html
Academy at Palumbo, Philadelphia, PA – Finding the Safest Route
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/finding-the-safest-route.html
East Valley High School, Yakima, WA – Cooling off a Region
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/cooling-off-a-region.html
The award ceremony and the District of Columbia trip is the culmination of the eight month long Solve for Tomorrow competition. Last August, more than 2,300 schools across the country entered the competition with an essay on how STEM can help their community. 255 schools were selected as state finalists and received Samsung Galaxy Tabs. Then, 51 state winners received a camcorder, laptop and Adobe editing software to create videos that explained how STEM can improve their community. Last month, representatives from the 15 national finalist teams pitched their project ideas to a panel of judges at SXSWedu in Austin, TX. The national finalists received a special service plan with a dedicated school support contact, on-site product training as well as maintenance service, online training and an extended warranty plan.
The Solve for Tomorrow contest is part of Samsung Hope for Children, the company’s philanthropic initiative focused on helping children lead healthier, smarter and more sustainable lives. Since 2002, Samsung and its partners have provided cash, technology and volunteer hours to more than 750 schools and community organizations in the United States.
B-roll and images from the awards luncheon and trip to D.C. can be downloaded on May 1st here: http://media.dmsprod.com/sft/
* Estimated Retail Value
About Samsung Electronics North America
Samsung Electronics North America (NAHQ), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is an arm of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American brand management including Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC and Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, Samsung is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com. You can also Fan Samsung on www.facebook.com/SamsungUSA or follow Samsung via Twitter @SamsungTweets.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, tablets, personal computers, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 286,000 people across 80 countries with annual sales of US$216.7 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.
CONTACT:
Lauren Restuccia
Samsung North America
Tel: 201-329-7281
lrestuccia@sea.samsung.com
Danielle Cohen
Edelman
Tel: 212-704-8160
danielle.cohen@edelman.com
