Altec Innovation Challenges Encourages STEM Exploration 

Year after year, STEM employment continues to be among the fastest growing job sectors in the United States. Hosted annually, Altec’s Innovation Challenge encourages high school students to explore areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

 Now in its fifth year, the Altec Innovation Challenge invites local high school students to team up and address a real-world problem with innovation that benefits their local community. Teams then get to hone their presentation skills by sharing their solution, with the winning team receiving $10,000 to implement their project. 

 Currently, Innovation Challenges are held in Birmingham, Alabama, sponsored by Altec’s corporate office, and in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, home to one of the company’s manufacturing facilities. 

Solving Water Pollution in Elizabethtown, Kentucky 

Elizabethtown’s Innovation Challenge saw 40 teams submit proposals. Of those, nine teams were selected to present their solution, with 60 students representing four local high schools. Presentations were then judged based on impact, feasibility, implementation plan and sustainability. 

 LaRue County High School students Sage Garris, Carter Peace, Conlee Crossno, and William Wooton took home the top prize for their solution to solve top water pollution in Kentucky lakes and ponds. Their solution used an autonomous watercraft prototype which will be used to collect waste from the bodies of water. A full-scale version will be launched in Freeman Lake when complete.  

 Chad Sarver, corporate training manager at Altec’s Elizabethtown manufacturing facility, said the event served as a considerable showcase of regional talent and is a great way to unite local workforce and education leaders.  

 “The Altec Innovation Challenge provides students with the opportunity to effectively collaborate, think outside the box, use innovative approaches to solve real-world problems and demonstrate their capabilities to local leaders,” said Sarver. “This event helps develop the next generation of innovators in the region, which is becoming more and more crucial as our region undergoes a wave of economic development.” 

Connecting Students with the Community in Birmingham, Alabama 

In its flagship location, the Innovation Challenge in Birmingham brought teams from Birmingham City Schools to compete for the top prize. Taking first place was the team from George W. Carver High School of Rafael Avelino, Ashley Pender, Alexandria Hall-Chambers, Devarion Thomas and Ariyan Riggs.

 In the last two years, four Carver students were taken by gun violence. In the city of Birmingham, 59% of criminal homicides involving guns were committed by someone 25 years or younger. To help address this problem, the students proposed the creation of the neXsim mobile app. Through the neXsim app, local students will be able to organically create clubs led by adult mentors based on their interests, allowing those students to have productive after-school activities that help them develop skills and talents and avoid situations that could potentially lead to poor decisions. 

 “We decided that a good way to get them off of that path is to provide them with positive pathways,” Riggs said. “We conducted a survey of students and found that over half of those interviewed were not involved in extracurricular activities because they had other commitments outside of school, or were not interested in what is offered at Carver. The algorithm will be similar to that of a dating app, matching students up with people and clubs that have similar interests that they do.” 

The group hopes that this app will eventually be used by all interested students in the Birmingham area. 

 Congratulations to all participating students and thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving our communities.