Students from the Ballard High School Biotech Academy joined hundreds of high school students from around the state at Washington State University's Pullman campus last week to compete in the “Imagine Tomorrow” competition.

The annual problem-solving competition surrounding the theme of "Energize the Planet” challenged students to seek new ways to support alternative energy. 

Under guidance from lead teacher, Dr. Dewey Moody, Ballard students won thousands of dollars in prize money for themselves and for the school.
 
Teams were given the option of approaching the challenge of alternative energy from four different angles: behavioral, technological, design, or a multi-disciplinary collaboration. In each category, both students and their schools received monetary awards and certificates.

First place winners in each category split $5,000 among themselves and took home an additional $5,000 for their school. The Second place teams received $3,000 for themselves and $3,000 for their school. The prize money was $1,500 for third place and $1,000 for fourth place.

In the design category, students were asked to design a living/working space with significantly lower CO2 emissions than at present. Students Michael Asefa, Ryan Kangas, Jean-Luc Leclair, Matt Rusk, and Tyler Troxell won first place in design for their project “Algae Today – Oil Tomorrow”. 

A Ballard team also took second place in design for the “Mycoremediation” project by students Lindsay Heia, Joan Houser, Lilly Konek and Natalia Roberts-Buceta.

In the technological category, students were asked to invent or redesign a machine or process that uses sustainable technologies for energy production, consumption and conservation.

Katie Harrylock, Melanie Jochheim-Atkins, Alex Neitz, Rafael Regan and Grace Shaw won third place in technology as well as the “most likely to succeed in the marketplace” award for their “Charging Tomorrow” project.