Jazmin Abasto-Ruggeri, grade 11 Cuthbertson High School, Waxhaw, NC My product provides hospitalized children with a comforting plushie that reminds them of home. I created this plushie to help these courageous kids feel at home despite being away from it. My design features ultra-soft fabric and a built-in nebulizer, projector, and speaker; these features are...

Erin Hong, grade 10 Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, CA In suburban areas like the one I live in, I feel it is harder to connect. When I knock on my neighbors’ doors, they don’t open them because we lack community. Despite the fact that we are farther apart figuratively and literally, I believe my...

Advika Kalla, grade 11 North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), Durham, NC When Hurricane Helene hit picturesque Chimney Rock, North Carolina, it destroyed 73,000 properties and took over 100 lives. It disrupted the sense of home in the town, which had been lived in for generations. I aim to help rebuild this town...

Maithili Chaudhari, grade 12 McNair Academic High School, Jersey City, NJ This design was inspired by my hometown of Jersey City, where 40+ languages are spoken and almost 1/2 of the population is born outside the USA. In such an ethnically and culturally diverse city, many specific cultural neighborhoods have formed, allowing for connection over...

Kevin Chen, grade 12 and Lance Lim, grade 12 Glen A. Wilson High School, Hacienda Heights, CA Teacher: Justin Ro Our online meet-and-greet app, called Tender, focuses on intuitive design curated for seniors. Booting up, you’ll see a profile creation screen (after registering) where you can customize your appeal to peers. After the 10-minute setup...

Brendan Li, grade 11 Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA Social media has divided our generations by reducing connection to keeping up with trends, but connection goes beyond shared slang or humor. For children who are growing up in the suburbs during the digital age, few physical spaces exist for real...

Angelina Lu, grade 11 Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA Many new developments in America prioritize cars over people, creating disconnected suburbs, poor walkability, and underutilized spaces. This isolates residents and weakens community bonds. Improving accessibility, integrating communal areas, and utilizing adaptive reuse architecture builds human connections to create vibrant, inclusive environments. My design repurposes...

Moira Malhotra, grade 11, and Skyla Willems, grade 11 Academy of Allied Health and Sciences, Neptune, NJ Teacher: Melissa Pitman Our design is for everyone and is in response to ongoing conflicts. Our website, The Peace Initiative, features three components: a hotline for students to share experiences of racial hate, fostering empathy among victims; mandatory...

Mina Mori, grade 11 Hunter College High School, New York, NY Growing up with neurodiverse friends/family, I realized that many NYC playgrounds lack sensory spaces for neurodiverse children, or activities for individuals with “invisible” disabilities not covered by the ADA. This deficiency limits children’s ability to engage and play. Wonderland Park is an inclusive and...