Robertsdale High proposing shoreline conservation at Samsung's STEM competition

Already named state winner, aiming for national finalist spot

By Kara Mautz
Reporter
kara@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 3/3/23

Students from Robertsdale High School have been chosen as state winners in the 13th-annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.

Robertsdale is one of 50 schools chosen to advance to the next …

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Robertsdale High proposing shoreline conservation at Samsung's STEM competition

Already named state winner, aiming for national finalist spot

Posted

Students from Robertsdale High School have been chosen as state winners in the 13th-annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.

Robertsdale is one of 50 schools chosen to advance to the next level of the competition, which will be to compete for one of 10 national finalist spots and pitch their project to a team of judges to be declared the ultimate winner.

Because the students have already been declared state winners for Alabama, they will be awarded at least $12,000 in technology and school supplies from Samsung.

James Fortune, environmental engineering teacher at Robertsdale High School, said he is excited to be leading his team of 17 11th-grade students toward the next step of the competition.

“Our team is comprised of students from the environmental engineering class,” Fortune said. “Our project this year is focused on the living shoreline. The premise is to look at the ways to combat sea level rise and increase biodiversity.”

Fortune said he chose the platform based on the student’s connection and proximity to the beach.

“For me, I’m interested in the environment aspects and how we can use STEM components to be creative and help nature engineer itself. Plus, with our students being from Baldwin County, many will end up coming back here and will be impacted by our biodiverse ecosystem.”

Fortune said students are working on finishing and submitting their project videos to be considered for one of the coveted national finalist positions.

If they advance to the next stage of the competition, they will travel to the in-person competition in New York City later this year.

Ann Woo, senior director for corporate citizenship at Samsung Electronics America, said thousands of schools apply for the competition each fall and that the 50 state winners are chosen from a pool of over 300 state finalists.

This year, six schools from Alabama were chosen as state finalists.

These schools include:

• Bush Hills STEAM Academy in Birmingham
• Wilkerson Middle School in Birmingham
• Chickasaw High School in Chickasaw
• Daphne High School in Daphne
• Alabama School of Mathematics and Science in Mobile
• Robertsdale High School in Robertsdale (winner)

“This competition started in 2010,” Woo said. “It allows for public middle and high schoolers to show how STEM can be applied to improve an issue in their community. We want to make sure that there is a tangible connection between a hard subject and how change happens in the world today, a lot can be solved by STEM innovation.”