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​​Innovations Challenge Winners

From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll, left, presents certificates to the Innovations Challenge team from Norwin High School, from left, adviser Thomas Harskowitch, Noah Wilson and Troy Horvath.

20​24 Statewide Winner 

Norwin High School — "More Cohesion, Less Separation" includes a green pathway alongside the roadway to provide communal space, diverse vegetation, stormwater management and enhanced air quality. The solution also includes mixed-use zoning surrounding the project and a focus on connecting the community via pedestrian and bike paths.

  • Students: Troy Horvath, Noah Wilson
  • Adviser: Thomas Harskowitch

​2024 Regional Winners


2024 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
1
Fort LeBoeuf High School
Roundabout
Austin Stein, Mason Friedman, James Oviatt, Ayden Wolfarth
Cody Patton
3
Wellsboro Area High School
Ian Hoose, Natalie Cleveland, Carter Knowlton
Francis Novak
5
Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School
Entry of Exits
Kylia Neil, Raissa Estime​
Dr. Corey Jones
6
Lower Moreland High School
Redesigning the Veins of America
Brinda Dass, Anna Akhobadze, Lindsay McShane, Sharon Lee
Nick Solomon
8
Central Dauphin High School
Divided by Design
Kyle Peck, Alex Mendelsohn, Alan Keeney, Ryan Sowers
Cody Leisey
10
Lenape Technical School
Connecting Our Communities
Olyvia Burns, Leia Ziembicki-Lewis, Kiley Held
Jason P. Zimmerman
11
South Fayette High School
Tactful Trails
Nikhil Amalraj, Ishaan Chahande,  Rohan Paranjpe, Aayush Sandesh
James Hausman III​​
12
Norwin High School
Troy Horvath, Noah Wilson
Thomas Harskowitch

From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.
PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll, center right, presents certificates to the Innovations Challenge team from Lenape Technical School, from left, adviser Jason Zimmerman, Robert John and Elijah Mumau.

20​23 Statewide Winner 

Lenape Technical School — "Eco-Stops​" a solution designed to create affordable, eco-friendly, and innovative rest stops along Pennsylvania's roadways. The solution included a proposal to offset costs and minimize the environmental impacts by using recycled asphalt pavement and concrete printed facilities, as well as solar energy.

  • Students: Elijah Mumau, Robert John
  • Adviser: Jason Zimmerman

​2023 Regional Winners

2023 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
1
Fort LeBoeuf High School
Fairview Private Parking Area
Kody Bukoski, Morgan McKinnon, Isabella Johnson
Cody Patton
3
Midd-West High School
Shoulder-Stop
Jesse Witkowski, Ryland Portzline, Ben Hummel, Ayden Hoover
Matthew Dietz
5
Conrad Weiser High School
Innovative Truck Stop Parking Solution
Caitlin Oliviero, Jenny Le, Reagan Wenrich
Ryan Knarr
6
Conestoga High School
Revolutionizing Truck Parking through a 3-Prong Approach
Faizaan Siddique, Andrew Hunter
Jacqueline Gontarek
8
Reach Cyber Charter School
Cargo-Duo: Increase Capacity Through Partnerships & Awareness
Jenna Kargus, Starlynne Santiago
Karen McGahee
9
Penn Cambria High School
Pittston Parking
Lauren Farabaugh, Greg Asberry
Jarrod McCombie
10
Lenape Technical School
Eco-Stops
Elijah Mumau, Robert John
Jason P. Zimmerman
11
Carlynton School District
Advancements in Technology for Truck Stops
Gabriel DiPietro, Caden Crow
Emily Filus
12
Norwin High School
Surplus Plaza
Nicholas Cormas, Gabriel Conboy, Caden Hoffman
Thomas Harskowitch

From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.
PennDOT Chief Executive Deputy, Jon Fleming, left, and ACEC/PA President, Rose Bougher, right,  present the travelling trophy to the statewide winning team, from left, Gavin Glukhoy, Kyle Jarrett, Neylla Joseph and Brittany Ulate-Mora.

2022 Statewide Winner 

Monroe Career and Technical Institute — "PaE3 program" a solution designed to help communities become “Excited, Educated and Engaged" about PennDOT projects. The program focuses on using existing technologies to approach the need for communication between PennDOT and its key stakeholders, including using map applications like Waze and Google Maps to provide notifications about proposed road work projects, similar to how those sites show accidents and current construction projects. 

  • Students: Neylla Joseph, Kyle Jarrett, Brittany Ulate-Mora and Gavin Glukhoy 
  • Adviser: Ross Ruschman

​2022 Regional Winners

2022 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
1
Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy
PA Drivers Assistance App
Isabella Zewe, Zoe Barron, Pasya Kashindi
James Fleming
4
North Pocono High School
Rate-A-Ride
Mason Natalini, Daniel Pierzchala 
Nathan Jones
5
Monroe Career and Technical Institute
PaE3 program
Neylla Joseph, Kyle Jarrett, Brittany Ulate-Mora, Gavin Glukhoy
Ross Ruschman
6
Downingtown High School East
Public Engagement Efficiency 
Chaitrali More, Rohan Patel, Rishi Attarde, Yajat Gupta
Brad Oliver
8
Reach Cyber Charter School
PennDOT Community Hub App 
Cecilia Edwards, Juan Pablo Ambriz, Starlynne Santiago
Karen McGahee
9
Northern Bedford County High School
Bridge Ice/Freezing Warning System
Richard Bollinger, Hailey Bollman, Cameron Clark, Landon Fleck 
Craig Curfman
12
Norwin High School
Google Ads
Robert Chappell, Zachary Moffatt
Thomas Hasrkowitch


From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.
PennDOT Innovations Challenge Travelling Trophy and Leave-Behind Trophy.

2021 Statewide Winner

Lower Moreland High School — "Saving Energy, Generating Cash" a solution advocating the use of piezoelectric plates on Pennsylvania's roadways to generate large amounts of sustainably sourced energy. Power generated from the devices would be sold to electric producers, creating a new revenue source for Pennsylvania’s transportation system. 

  • Students: Misha Bankulla, Gopiga Dass, Daniel Porotov
  • Adviser: Nick Solomon

​2021 Regional Winners

2021 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
2State College High School
Credit Card License
Jake Levan, Sae'awzha Williams, Leslie Powers
Bridget Ciolkosz
3Midd-West High School
Multi-Design Approach
Isabella Parra, Gabriel Drumheller
Ed Gunkle
4Dallas High School
PennDOT Safe Driving App
Colin Marshall & Evan Plank
Emma Healey
5
North Schuylkill Jr./Sr. High School
Wind Power
Carter Koscil, Anthony Cutrona, Donovan Norwich, Justin Williams
Kelly Stone
6
Lower Moreland High School
Saving Energy, Generating Cash
Misha Bankulla, Gopiga Dass, Daniel Porotov
Nick Solomon
6
The Hill School
PA Road Rewards
Edward Proffitt, Rohan Dondeti, Andres Arevalo, Juan Hinostroza
Christopher Chirieleison
8
Dover Area High School
Funding Roads: A Three Step Approach
Keegan Fobes and Hailie Miller
Emily Miller
11
North Allegheny Cyber Academy
Restructuring Registration Fee with Rebates
Brendan White, Benjamin Quint
Janellen Lombardi
12
Kiski Area High School
Road Runner
Cora Coleman and Abigail Johns
Matthew Snedecor


From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.
The 2020 statewide winning team from Monroe Career and Technical Institute, from left, Kyle Jones and Jason Herrera, at the regional judging event at the PennDOT Engineering District 5 Office. 

2020 Statewide Winner

Monroe Career and Technical Institute — "Pennsylvania Trashout" website and mobile application,  which would motivate and award prizes to individuals who find, report and pick up litter, based on the concepts of POKEMON GOTM and Geocaching. 

  • Students: Kyle Jones, Jason Herrera
  • Adviser: Ross Ruschman

​2020 Regional Winners

2020 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
1Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy
Litter Bug
LaceyJo Hunter, Destiny Krome, Amrita Sarki
James Fleming
2Bradford Area High School
Work Smart Not Hard
Nicholas Ward, Ian Grady, Alex Marrone, Samantha Gray
Peter Eckstrom
3Midd-West High School
Automatic Roadside Cleaner (ARC)
Reid Dunkelberger, Chase Strohecker, Elias Swartz
Ed Gunkle
4North Pocono High School
Keep Pennsylvania Clean
Alyvia Scutt, Isavel Rodriguez
Maria Capitano
4
Hanover Area Jr./Sr. High School
Highway Side
Amelia Joubert, Dayna Cruz, Sierra Hildebrand
Christa Langdon
5
Monroe Career & Technical Institute
Pennsylvania Trashout
Kyle Jones, Jason Herrera
Ross Ruschman
6
PA Virtual Charter School
Statewide Litter Competition
Layla Koon, Alysandra Chen, Logan Seaver
Zach Mehal
8
Reach Cyber Charter School
Litter Impact
Audrey Vereshack, Madelyn Vereshack, Elyssia Good
Jessica Vernouski
10Seneca Valley Senior High School
Litter Gitter
Darius Zalnasky, Sydney McMurray, Brady McConnell, Kathleen Monahan, Ty Brinkley
Dean Walker
11South Fayette High Schooll
CashCan
Tanush Shrivastava, Himanish Kolli, Daxen Prajapati, Niveidhan Praveen
James Hausman


12Norwin High School
PALS (Pennsylvania Litter System) App
John Christian, Joshua Gubanich, Jordan Loy, Elias Mignogna
Tom Harskowitch

From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.
PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, left, presents winning certificates to the Innovations Challenge team from North Allegheny Senior High School, from left, Leela Pinnamaraju and Isha Das.

2019 Statewide Winner

North Allegheny Senior High School — "Safe Drive" app, which would allow users to see their work zone violations in real time. The app's interface would reward drivers with points for good behavior and penalize drivers for violations.

  • Students: Isha Das, Leela Pinnamaraju
  • Adviser: Laura Prosser

​2019 Regional Winners

2019 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
1Farrell Area High SchoolPingersCamryn Gipson, Kayla Bello, Rachel OwensKim Kladitis
2Juniata High School
Narrow Lanes, Slow Traffic
Carl Fowler, Trevor Kinsloe
Raina Haubert
3Northeast Bradford Senior High School
Speed Governor Jammer
Eryn Nichols, Jazmine Elliott, Jenna Whaley, Madison Jochum
Rebecca Folk
4Dallas High School
Photovoltaic Photo Finish
Michael Quinnan, Shreene Patel, Maddie Baloga, Alex DeRome
Kevin West
5North Schuylkill High SchoolPersonalized Digital SignDrew Mashack, Tyler WolfgangKelly Stone
6Academy Park High School
Incentivizing the Road
Cheyenne Phillips, Sahmir Blackwell
Colleen DiMaggio
8Hershey High School
RedWrench
Angie Bu, Eman Asghar
Colette Silvestri
9Somerset Area Senior High SchoolSignal-Controlled GovernorBenjamen Geary, Andrew Beachy, Tyson HostetlerHomer Kreinbrook, Michael Benton
10Seneca Valley Senior High School
"Smart" Speed Bumps
Caroline Cohen, Kevin Karatassos
Dean Walker
11North Allegheny Senior High School Mobile app
Isha Das, Leela PinnamarajuLaura Prosser
12Norwin High School
Laser Technology Solution
Emily Jumba, Hannah Jackson
Tom Harskowitch

From left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, Micky Fairorth and Will Vauclain holding certificates.
PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, center, presents winning certificates to the Innovations Challenge team from Haverford School, from left, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan, Micky Fairorth, and Will Vauclain.

2018 Statewide Winner

Haverford School — Machine-Learning Based Attention Analysis Tool on Smartphones Safeguarding Driving Teens

  • Students: Micky Fairorth, Will Vauclain, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVan
  • Adviser: Holly Golecki

2018 Regional Winners

2018 Regional Innovations Challenge Winners
DistrictSchoolSolutionStudentsAdviser
1Meadville Area High SchoolTeen Safe Driving AppPallas Athena Cain, Alexis Holt, Elizabeth Grove, Saskia JagerJill Hyatt
4Dallas High SchoolSafe Driving School for StudentsMichael Quinnan, Shreena Patel, Maddie Baloga, Kelly YoungKevin West
4Lehman IntermediateComic StripsJason Lopez, Donjee Mosley-Saunders, Hennessy Velazquez, Kayla OrtizKendal Askins
5Pocono Mountain East High SchoolSensor WheelBrandon Torres, Zacahry RacavichDr. Deborah Kerby
6Haverford SchoolMachine-Learning Based Attention Analysis Tool on Smartphones Safeguarding Driving TeensMicky Fairorth, Will Vauclain, Yiheng Chen, Aram LaVanHolly Golecki
8Cedar Crest High SchoolSobriety Test KeyGabrielle Talys, Addie Harvey, Justice ArmstrongJill Houtz
11South Fayette High SchoolKYHU (Keep Your Head Up) Driving AppParv Shrivastiva, Suraj Bokil, Vinay Pedapati, Siddartha KhanjachiJames Hausman