Ballard High School biotech students win big awards

A group of biotech students from Ballard High School won thousands of dollars at the Imagine Tomorrow competition  titled “Energize the Planet” at Washington State University last week.

Photo by Dewey Moody

According to WSU’s website, “the annual contest challenges students to seek new ways to support alternative energy by overcoming real-world obstacles.”

Ballard High School parent Andrea Marchese reported the results in an email:

• Michael Asefa, Ryan Kangas, Jean-Luc Leclair, Matt Rusk, and Tyler Troxell won 1st place in design for their project “Algae Today – Oil Tomorrow”.
• Lindsay Heia, Joan Houser, Lilly Konek and Natalia Roberts-Buceta won 2nd place in design for their “Mycoremediation” project.
• Katie Harrylock, Melanie Jochheim-Atkins, Alex Neitz, Rafael Regan and Grace Shaw won 3rd place in technology and “most likely to succeed in the marketplace” for their “Charging Tomorrow” project.

WSU’s website states that first place winners in each category split $5,000 and their schools will receive $5,000. Second place teams split $3,000 with the same amount going to the high school, and third place splits $1,500.