HERMISTON — Conceptualizing a sun exposure and monitoring device landed Hermiston High School students a state award in Samsung Electronics America’s Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.

The submissions, which incorporate science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are meant to create innovative solutions to critical issues in applicants’ local communities. Hermiston High School’s team was rewarded with a $12,000 technology prize package that included a video kit to help in the competition’s next step. The school is one of 50 middle and high schools — one per state — moving forward.

Students at Hermiston are working on designing and building a wearable ultraviolet radiation exposure tracker. Because the region has intense sunlight, especially during the summer, this could help limit health risks due to exposure, such as skin cancer. The small device will help community members monitor real-time UV radiation levels and receive alerts to take preventive measures when these levels pose potential health risks.

Seeing STEM in action

The Solve for Tomorrow competition is meant to make STEM more tangible, showcasing its value in and out of the classroom. According to a Samsung press release, of the 50 state winners, 58% of the schools represented were Title 1 schools.

“Solve for Tomorrow was born from Samsung’s deep belief in the power of STEM to improve lives and transform communities,” Allison Stransky, Samsung’s chief marketing officer, said in the release. “It’s truly inspiring to see these bright Gen Z and Gen Alpha innovators harnessing emerging technologies, with nearly half of their STEM solutions incorporating AI, to address critical societal issues with creativity, determination and purpose.”

As a group, this year’s state winners showed they are most concerned with environmental sustainability and climate disasters (28%), public health (26%) and accessibility (20%), followed by public safety and mental health. The competing state winner entries embraced cutting-edge technologies, including  AI (42%), 3D printing (34%) and robotics (14%) to bring their ideas to life.

The competition asks students to combine problem-based learning, STEM disciplines, social impact entrepreneurship and environmental stewardship.

“Through hands-on, real-world experiences, the competition inspires young minds to see STEM as a pathway to becoming changemakers and pursuing fulfilling, impactful careers,” according to the press release.

Being a state winner honor marks a key milestone toward the ultimate prize: being one of three national winners. Each of the three receives $100,000 for their school.

What comes next

After receiving their prize package, Hermiston High School students will create a three-minute STEM solution pitch video to demonstrate how to apply science, technology, engineering and math to address the community issue outlined in the initial submission. Submissions are due March 6.

Samsung employees will serve as one-on-one mentors to the state winners, guiding student teams through project development and prototype building. Using their professional expertise, mentors will also help teams create compelling video pitches for their STEM solutions to advance to the national finalist phase.

In mid-March, Samsung judges will narrow the field of 50 down to 10 finalists, who are invited to participate in a live pitch event in April.