RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. – November 27, 2017 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc. today announced the 255 state finalists in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest – a nationwide competition that challenges students to creatively use STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) skills to address real-world issues and inspire change in their local communities. Each year, the program sheds light on societal and environmental problems that affect students in their everyday lives, and empowers them to voice their concerns proactively and unite with their classmates to find a resolution.

Five schools from every state and the District of Columbia were selected from a pool of nearly 3,000 entries. This year, teachers nationwide submitted creative and strategic proposals to solve current issues, such as wildfire prevention, poor water quality, food scarcity, hurricane relief, cyberbullying and pedestrian safety. All 255 teachers selected as state finalists will receive one Samsung Chromebook® for their classrooms and have the opportunity to advance in the competition for additional prizes and educational opportunities.

“As a company of technologists, Samsung is committed to inspiring the next generation of engineers and innovators,” said Ann Woo, senior director of corporate citizenship, Samsung Electronics America. “Every year, we are moved by the voice of young people and the empathy, ingenuity and drive they put forth in their project ideas. The contest entries give us a pulse on what impacts children daily, and the aspects of our local and global society that they think, care and worry about. These are issues we witness on the news each day, but clearly impact the youth of America, as detailed by their entries and the problems they are working to solve. The thoughtfulness and potential impact of the proposed projects continue to raise the bar year over year as students and teachers motivate each other to ignite change in today’s world. We are thrilled to congratulate this year’s state finalists and look forward to seeing their projects progress in the coming months.”

In the next phase of the contest, the state finalists will submit lesson plans detailing the process of how they will address their community issue using STEAM skills. Teachers at each school have until December 6, 2017 to outline how their classroom will execute the STEAM-driven project to create positive change, in hopes of advancing in the contest to proceed through the following remaining phases:

  • State finalists: 255 state finalists will be selected to submit an Activity Plan, outlining their project development and the issue it will work to solve. Each state finalist school will receive a Samsung Chromebook.
  • State winners: 51 state winners will be selected to submit a video of their project in action. For achieving state winner status, 41 of those schools will receive a $25,000 Samsung technology package, including a Samsung video kit to produce their video. The other 10 will progress to the national finalist stage.
  • National finalists: 10 national finalists will be selected to attend a Pitch Event where they will pitch their project to a panel of judges. For achieving national finalist status, 7 schools will receive a $50,000 Samsung technology package. The other three will progress to the national winner stage.
  • National grand prize winners: 3 national winners will be selected and each will receive a $150,000 Samsung technology package.
  • Community Choice Award: All of the 10 national finalists will be eligible to win an additional $20,000 Samsung technology package based on social media voting.

For Official Rules and judging criteria, click here.

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest was created in 2010 to encourage innovation among young students while addressing the technology gap in classrooms across the country. Since 2001, Samsung has provided more than $60 million to more than 1,200 public schools and community organizations in the United States through its many citizenship initiatives.

For a full list of state finalist schools, please visit www.samsung.com/solve or follow on Instagram @SolveForTomorrow.

*$2 million prize is based on an estimated retail value.