Using STEM to Make a Difference in Their Communities, 15 Public Schools are Named National Finalists in the $2 million* Solve for Tomorrow Contest

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., February 24, 2016 /3BL Media. – When their teacher asked them to take a hard look at issues affecting people in their community, one group of students in Missouri noticed that some of their peers with disabilities had trouble staying upright in their wheelchairs. And so, the students got to work with compressed cardboard, cutting and shaping various components to find which ones would create classroom furniture that would make their friends most comfortable.

This is the essence of Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow contest, which challenges students to tap into their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills to create innovative solutions to problems they observe in their communities. The students in Missouri were recently named one of the 15 national finalists by Samsung Electronics America (SEA).

This year, Samsung had about 1,000 more applicants than last year. More than 4,100 school groups submitted ideas for how they might be able to use STEM to address an issue affecting their communities. From a pool of state winners (representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C.) that were selected to develop their project and submit a short video of how it works, the 15 finalists were selected. This year’s projects include a smartwatch app for pedestrian safety, enhanced window screens for reducing pollution and tiny homes for homeless teens.

“This contest not only challenges students to review their STEM knowledge but also to take a hard look at some of the real-life problems people in their communities are facing,” said Ann Woo, director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. “This is about growing as a student and as a citizen.”

All of the national finalist teams are invited to come to New York City to present their projects in front of a live panel of judges and Samsung employees and partners on March 15 at Samsung 837, the company’s flagship experiential center. Through the first-ever Solve for Tomorrow vote on Twitter and Instagram, members of the public will also be able to weigh in by posting their favorite school’s given hashtag. Voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. EST, March 1, 2016 and will last through 11:59 p.m. EST, April 1, 2016.

The 15 national finalists hail from public schools in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. They have already won a minimum of $40,000* in technology. Grand prize winners will receive a total of $120,000* in technology.

“We thank every school that has participated in the contest this year, and we congratulate the finalists,” said Woo. “We are cheering each one of them on during this last phase of the contest.”

The Solve for Tomorrow contest, Samsung’s signature STEM program, was created in 2010 to address the technology gap in classrooms nationwide and engage students in public school grades 6 through 12 in STEM. The contest encourages them to innovate while thinking about issues in their communities. Since its official inception, the contest has awarded more than $17 million in technology to more than 1,000 schools across the country. The contest includes five phases and runs congruent to the academic year.

This year’s 15 finalists are:

To access a mash-up of the 15 finalists’ video submissions, please visit: http://qlnk.io/ql/56cb904ae4b01f3798194aea

To learn more about the competition, please visit: http://www.samsung.com/solve

*Estimated retail value

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA delivers a broad range of digital consumer electronics, IT and home appliance products. Samsung is the market leader for HDTVs in the U.S and America’s fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more of the award-winning products you love with Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com and for the latest Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow on Twitter @SamsungNewsUS.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies that redefine the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space with the open platform SmartThings, our broad range of smart devices, and through proactive cross-industry collaboration. We employ 319,000 people across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion. To discover more, and for the latest news, feature articles and press material, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.