By Madison Akers
University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute hosted their annual Do Good Challenge finals on April 25, which awarded $5,000 to a project that empowers the next generation of STEM students and an invention that saves millions of gallons of water through the improvement of automatic toilet flushing devices.
“The key message I want to communicate is – at a time where there are calls to make this country great again – America is great because Americans do good,” UMD President Wallace Loh said.
As part of the Do Good Challenge, “students spend a year advocating, fundraising, volunteering and developing solutions for pressing problems,” in order to make a difference within their communities, according to the Do Good Institute’s website.
Then, the six teams picked to compete pitch their project or venture to a panel of judges in the Do Good Challenge finals.
The winners are awarded $5,000 to be used towards the improvement of their initiatives.
Natalia Ochman, a senior engineering major, introduced her first place project winner, called “Flame,” to the judges. Flame, which stands for foundational, learning, mentorship and experience, aims to empower next generation STEM students of underrepresented groups through weekly after-school lessons at Title 1 Prince George’s County Schools.
Currently, Flame takes place at Charles Carroll Middle School and Adelphi Elementary School, but Ochman said she plans to expand to other schools within the county.
According to Ochman, 58 percent of minorities stated interest within STEM fields, yet less than 10 percent of them actually pursue it on a college level.
“This is not a biological problem, this is a cultural phenomenon that can be fixed within our school system, and the key to fixing it is mentorship,” Ochman said.
Along with introducing scientific experiments and lessons on science-related topics, Flame provides a full nutritious meal to its students with the help of the Food Recovery Network. Ochman said that 75 percent of the students had previously gone without eating a meal the entire day.
Ochman plans to use the money towards operational costs, background checks for volunteers and the expansion into William Wirt Middle School and Bladensburg High School.
Hydraze, the first place winner for the venture category, seeks to eliminate empty “phantom” toilet flushes by introducing new water-sensing and automatic flushing devices, which in turn could save millions of gallons of water.
Charles Grody, a junior engineering major, introduced a new method of automatic flushing based on the activity of the stall latch.
Once the stall door is unlocked, “the device tells the toilet to flush once, as necessary, guaranteeing that level of cleanliness without a single phantom flush,” Grody said.
He said that the prize money will be used to “accelerate through the piloting phase, hit sales by January 2020 and reach 90 buildings by the end of 2020, making a 16-million-gallon larger difference.”
Grody said that his biggest challenge was getting people to understand the severity of the problem even though it seems like a comical issue to attempt to combat.
“We want to congratulate you on identifying the key campus social and environmental issue while describing its importance brilliantly,” the panelist judge Dan Porterfield said.“The idea is innovative, actionable and can have real impact.”
The devices are currently being used in the Clarice Performing Arts Center.