ARLINGTON, VA – CEF is proud to announce that the Science Scholars Sandbox Team from Illinois has won first place in this year’s National Challenge, earning a $16,000 scholarship sponsored by Univar Solutions. They triumphed over more than 14,000 students across North America. The Hydrovolt Team from Massachusetts and the Biocharge Team from Virginia placed second and third, winning $12,000 and $8,000, respectively.
The winners were revealed last night during the National Challenge Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Houston, TX. The other top five finalist teams were from California and Ohio.
Dwayne Sattler, Chief Executive Officer of CEF, shared his thoughts on this year’s competition: “These students didn’t just present science projects—they proposed bold, practical solutions to real-world problems and they did so with confidence, clarity, and courage. Watching middle schoolers present complex ideas on a national stage and rise to the challenge is nothing short of inspiring.”
Honeywell UOP, the travel sponsor for the winning team, extends congratulations to all participating students for their exceptional efforts. CEF also thanks Aaron Baca for his captivating performance and Ron Morton for his impactful keynote.
CEF extends its heartfelt thanks to Presenting Sponsor Univar Solutions, Trailblazer Sponsor Olin, and Innovator Sponsors AFPM, Azelis Americas, Brenntag North America, Corteva Agriscience, EMCO Chemical Distributors, Halliburton Charitable Foundation, Hawkins Inc., LyondellBasell, and Shell USA. We are also grateful to our additional Ambassadors, Allies and Advocates sponsors for their invaluable support in making this year’s Challenge a tremendous success.
The National Challenge is CEF’s flagship STEM competition, engaging middle school students in real-world problem solving. This year’s finalists addressed the theme, “You Be the Solution—develop a sustainable solution to a local natural hazard that ensures community safety.” Their innovative solutions included wildfire prevention, floodwater protection, sustainable energy storage, wastewater management, and water damage prevention—critical challenges that communities worldwide are facing today.
