Ridgewood High Awarded Prestigious Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Grant

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Ridgewood High School was recently awarded a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant, one of just 13 high schools across the country to be selected in 2020.

The grant is worth $8,500, and will be used to create a “Solar Aqua Tech” portable reusable water-sanitizing bottle, the high school said in a news release.

InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers and mentors that receive grants up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems.

“The InvenTeams program represents the future,” said Leigh Estabrooks, invention education officer from the Lemelson-MIT Program. “We place an emphasis on STEM-focused projects to develop interest in these fields among youth. With InvenTeams, our primary goal is to foster high school students’ passion for invention, in turn inspiring them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering or math.”

Ridgewood High School science teacher Hsuan Lillian Labowsky and engineering teacher John Wohner initiated the InvenTeam application process last spring, and worked with the students over the summer to prepare the final proposal.

A panel of judges composed of educators, researchers, staff and alumni from MIT, as well as representatives from the industry and former Lemelson-MIT Award winners, assembled virtually this fall and selected Ridgewood High School as one of this year’s InvenTeam grantees.

What's a Solar Aqua Tech bottle?

In the Solar Aqua Tech bottle, water and oxygen will generate hydrogen peroxide on-demand to sanitize water when energized by solar power, according to the high school.

The heart of the invention is to design a system around a unique catalyst-coated electrode to produce hydrogen peroxide, known to eliminate waterborne pathogens.

This bottle will benefit hikers, campers and anyone in need of clean water, according to the school.

The Solar Aqua technology can potentially be scaled up for use in large water treatment facilities to benefit entire communities.

The Ridgewood High School InvenTeam will work with Professor Shu Hu of the Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department of Yale University, who will guide the students through the development of their invention.

Experts at Ridgewood Water will also be assisting, the school said.

Over the next nine months, the team will build a working prototype of their invention that is showcased at a technical review within the local community in February, and then again as a final prototype at EurekaFest, an invention celebration in June 2021.