Rockville Centre organization wraps up Clean Tech competition

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The 2018 Clean Tech Competition, hosted by Rockville Centre’s Center for Science Teaching and Learning, wrapped up last week, as student winners from Long Island and across the world were announced.

Teams of high school students from five nations, including four from the United States, three from Singapore and one from Australia, Ireland and Peru, participated in the seventh annual event held at Stony Brook University on July 12.

The team of Danielle Kelly, of Friends Academy in Locust Valley, and Audrey Shine of Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, won first place and a $10,000 prize for their project on enhancing the efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells.

Shine and Kelly will have the opportunity to attend and present at the World Congress on Climate Change in Rome, Italy in September, and will continue their relationship with a professional mentor, who will advise them regarding their work and education.

The second place finisher was Benjamin Liao, of Palo Alto, Calif., who received $7,500 for his project relating to changing colored Thermochromics Roof Coatings used to capture or reflect the energy of the sun. Elise Ireland, from the Republic of Ireland, was given the third place award and $5,000 for her project that used rain water in downspouts to produce electricity.

The Clean Tech Competition is one of the only science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, competitions with a focus on using clean technology to solve environmental challenges. The 10 finalists that traveled to Long Island presented their STEM-based solutions for climate change after beating out a record number of nearly 550 teams from 39 countries.

“Clean Tech is more than just a competition; it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collaborate with young scientists around the globe,” said Shine, who also earned first place in last year’s Clean Tech Competition for a project on silkworms with Alyssa Iryami. “I am incredibly honored and grateful to receive the top award.”

Dr. Ray Ann Havasy, a scientist from Port Washington, founded the CSTL in 2000 as a resource for teachers and families, in an effort to focus more on STEM education, which she said was not being valued enough. A not-for-profit organization, the center is on Tanglewood Road off of Peninsula Boulevard.

“All of the students who participated in the finals demonstrated their creativity and understanding of STEM principals,” Havasy said. “These young people are a shining example of the importance and the potential of STEM.”