Residences at Vantage Point Presents Cash Prizes to Young Innovators

Glenelg High School teams won first and second place cash awards in the Big Idea Competition hosted by Residences at Vantage Point.

The competition, based on the television show, Shark Tank, was initiated and sponsored by Dr. Douglas Edsall and other residents of the retirement community in Downtown Columbia who wanted to encourage young people to find innovative solutions to contemporary problems and issues.

The competition called for students to create or generate an idea, concept, service, solution or initiative that focuses on a societal need by applying science and technology strategies. Eleven teams submitted applications and were reviewed by judges who selected five finalists who presented their proposals recently at the retirement community for a chance at cash prizes.

The top entry in the Big Idea Competition featured a proposal for Adaptive Sports Equipment for Disadvantaged Athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Using inexpensive materials they have tested, the three winning team members – Amitav Kohli, Tommy Hwang and Rowand Zara – design and produce recreational products such as bowling ramps and attachments that allow wheelchair-bound athletes to play soccer.

The team seeks grants and does its own fundraising to buy its materials in order to provide the equipment at no charge to users.

The second place finisher, another 3-member team from Glenelg High, developed a prototype for a Portable IV and Drinking Water System that employs a filtration unit to allow medics to generate both drinking water and IV fluid for medical use in remote locations. The winning team includes Connor Pavlik, Nolan Mercy and Kenneth Rickle who believe their product could be marketed to the U.S. Military, the Red Cross and other organizations.

Both Glenelg High teams were sponsored by teacher Raymond Gerstner.

The third place winner was a 2-member team – Yashika Reddy and Prithika Mohanraj – from Mt. Hebron High School under the sponsorship of teacher Melissa Kiehl. Their winning entry was a Lesion Detector App to allow individuals without access to dermatological health providers to identify possible skin diseases.

Digital Duality: The Pros and Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence was the subject of the fourth place winner, a 3-member group from a joint Centennial and Mount Hebron High School team. Sai Siddhish, Chandra Sekaran, Aryan Umale and Prithvi Ahirrao, under the sponsorship of teacher Toni Ireland, focus on educating people about scams that victimize those who are uninformed, particularly older adults and young children. The proposed solution is in-person information sessions at venues such as libraries.

The fifth place winner was a 4-member team from Centennial High School which has identified a Caffeine Removal Wastewater Treatment System that includes activated charcoal. The team – Jamie Bombick, Andrew Chong, Kirankishore Jayaprakash and Varshitha Kasiraman, under the sponsorship of teacher Eric Cullings – is testing a prototype of its design.

The judges of the Big Idea Competition included the following residents of Vantage Point:

• Dr. Jeffrey Friedhoffer worked at the Department of Defense and the Cyber Systems and Technology Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and taught at University of Maryland Baltimore County and George Washington University.
• Judy Dye worked as a Senior Executive with the Department of Defense, taught math in the Army’s continuing education program, volunteered as a tutor for children with dyslexia and helps produce care packages for military personnel overseas.
• Dr. Joel Morris is a retired Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering in the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
• Dr. Carol Roberts was a registered Professional Engineer in the District of Columbia and served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation. Roberts Peak in Antarctica is named after her.
• Daniel Balkin’s diverse business experience includes consulting for large organizations such as Chase, Wells Fargo, Capital One and other banks, as well as Venture Capital and angel funded start-ups.

Residences at Vantage Point was founded in 1990 and is a nonprofit serving people age 60 and above. Managed by Life Care Services, the community includes a variety of residential living arrangements from studio to two-bedroom deluxe apartments. It provides long-term health services available exclusively for residents should they need them.

Residences at Vantage Point is noted for its arts, cultural and educational activities, as well as for resident engagement with the larger community of Columbia. It is located at 5400 Vantage Point Road. Visit www.VantagePointResidences.org for more information.