Congratulations to Winners and Finalists in the 2021 Challenge Season!

Here are the top competitors in the 2021-22 academic year NFTE World Series of Innovation.

Saint-Gobain Sustainable Cities Challenge - 2021

The Challenge: The Challenge: Design a solution to promote use of sustainable building materials or create a circular economy in building construction.

Winners

• First Place: Cardbio, manipulates properties of cardboard to create several sustainable construction materials. Developed by 16-year-old Arnav Grover, a student at Academy of Information Technology and Engineering in Stamford, Connecticut. See their video here.
• Second Place: Rubix Living, inspired by a Rubik's cube, this modular living unit serves to provide a sustainable housing solution to unhoused people. Developed by 15-year-old Renee Wang, a student at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California. See their video here.
• Third Place: Reconcrete, leverages the limestone-forming ability of concrete to create a self-healing carbon-negative concrete solution. Developed 21-year-old Abhishek Patra, a student at the Birla Institute of Technology Mesra in India. See their video here.

Finalists

• ECOers, a concrete solution that utilizes irradiated plastic additives to minimize plastic pollution. See their video here.
• Respire, a 3-step demolition/construction plan that utilizes basalt fiber reinforced polymer bars and self-compacting lightweight concrete to maximize cost-efficiency while preserving a circular economy on modern construction. Developed by a team in Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California. See their video here.
• Solar Sidewalks, a road system of interlocking hexagons made of recycled plastics to capture solar energy on roadway. Developed by a team from Mead High School in Spokane, Washington. See their video here.
• Sustainable Vision, a processing facility proposal that partners with construction companies to foster collaboration for a circular economy. Developed by a team from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. See their video here.
• CYR, a recycling company that specializes in construction materials and recycling education to promote sustainable construction. Developed by a team from Dakota Collegiate in Manitoba, Canada. See their video here.
• Gypsun Inc., a gypsum recycling machine that uses renewable energy to decrease its ecological footprint. Developed by a team from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California.
• Just Clean Recycled Furniture, a sustainable business that aims to use recycled construction material to create furniture and promote a circular economy. Developed by a team from Independence High School in San Jose, California.