Samsung's $2M STEM Contest Is Under Way

The sixth annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenge is now open for entries.

The contest tasks students with developing original science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts, for a total prize pool of more than $2 million in technology products.

“We aspire for students to be creators and not just consumers of tomorrow’s technology, and this journey begins in the classroom,” Ann Woo, director of corporate citizenship for Samsung Electronics North America, said in a news release.

The contest, first launched in 2010 to address the technology gap in schools across the country, requires teams of four students to develop STEM solutions to social issues facing their communities.

Last year's national winners, a team of students from the Academy at Palumbo, in Philadelphia, Penn., devised a way to address safety issues in a crime-ridden neighborhood. Their program overlays Google Maps, helping users to chart a safe course home around areas deemed dangerous.

"Each street would get a number, and then the higher the number, the more dangerous that street was," says Tiffany Ng, a student involved with the project.

These numbers are totaled, and the streets with the lowest numbers are considered the safest route.

Projects from participants of previous Solve for Tomorrow contests are available for download from the website and can be used as activity plans in class.

For details on the contest, visit samsung.com/solve.