Representing high schools and colleges from all five boroughs of New York City, 10 students won the inaugural “10 Under 20: Young Innovators to Watch” competition. In partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the winners were announced at CE Week, NYC’s largest consumer electronics and technology event. These winners are driving STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) innovation with projects ranging from robots and apps to security devices and microtubes.
“Programs like these are important because they cement the public/private experience, give students a chance to meet real product developers and engineers, and reinforce that our schools are mentoring the next generation of digital thinkers,” said Robin Raskin, creator of the NYCEDC program.
These individuals will be honored during a special awards presentation at CE Week for outstanding achievements sure to enhance home automation, health, special needs and social networking. Because NYC is committed to STEAM development and education, it honors and invests in individuals working toward STEAM innovations with the potential to change the future of high tech cities.
“Cultivating an environment that encourages young innovators is vital to the creation of a diverse and equitable urban economy and tech ecosystem,” said NYCEDC Executive Vice President Eric Gertler. “This group of talented young entrepreneurs is a reflection of New York City’s immense pool of creative talent and a snapshot of the future in New York City.”
The “10 Under 20″ Award Recipients:
*Burhan Azeem, 18, Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island “A New Process for the Fabrication of Carbon Microtubes.”
*Shemar Dacosta, 14, Bronx Academy for Software Engineering, Bronx “Voices – An app for students to post anonymous problems in their school community so that they can be heard by their peers and schools.”
*Mamadou Diallo, 16, and fellow students from A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, Manhattan “The Young Hackers – A student-led organization aimed at supporting the next generation of computer programmers among high school students in New York City.”
*Daniil Frants, 16, Dwight School, Manhattan, “The Live Time Closed Captioning System – A wearable on-head display that enables anyone with a hearing disability to hear a naturally flowing conversation.”
*Raquel Hosein, 18, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn “Application of a Wireless Electrical Device for the Detection of Epilepsy.”
*Alyssa Kapasi, 14, The Brearley School, Manhattan “The Brearley-Chapin DoubleX 2015 Robot can lift any object of almost any shape that is smaller than 22 inches and weighs less than 60 pounds four and a half feet above the ground.”
*Dylan Kirdahy, 17, Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island “Crypta – This fingerprint-protected autofill device is designed to keep people’s online wallet accounts safe.”
*Sara Sakowitz, 19, Columbia University, Manhattan “Blue Moon Box: The Monthly Science Kit Subscription Service for Kids.”
*Jake Varghese, 16, Bayside High School, Queens “Vocap – a mobile application that helps anyone build a vocabulary in a foreign language while watching a video.”
*Rebecca West, 17, Townsend Harris, Queens “Pedestrian Penguin – A card game to save lives related to transportation accidents, which includes action and scenario cards.”
The “10 Under 20″ winenrs were chosen by a panel of educators, city officials and technology experts including Warren Buckleitner, CEO, Children’s Technology Review ; Majora Carter, CEO, StartUp Box; Brian Cohen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, New York Angels ; Rashid Ferrod Davis, Founder and Principal, P-TECH; Diane Levitt, Senior Director, K-12 education, Cornell Tech ; Frank Migliorelli, Director of Digital Experience, New York Public Library and Kristen Titus, Founding Director, NYC Tech Talent Pipeline. Each award recipient will receive a plaque and $1000 in tech award packages for themselves and their schools.
To register or learn more about CE Week, visit ceweekny.com
