Leveraging Generative AI and Data Cybersecurity to Conserve and Foster Local Biodiversity
The outcomes of the National High School Big Data Challenge Program — a program that strengthens students’ problem-solving and computational thinking abilities in the real world.
2024 High School Big Data Challenge™
HSBDC offers an extracurricular, interdisciplinary, experiential learning program that strengthens students’ problem-solving and computational thinking abilities and introduces them to open science.
HSBDC™

partners

& sponsors

Program Statistics
First Time Project
IUBDC
4/5
participants completed a research project for the first time
98%
success rate in manuscript publication
90%
increase in event participants
real-world Skills
HSBDC
9/10
participants gained ML/AI skills and applied them in real-world context
Culminating Events
Western Canada Finals
Calgary, AB, February 10, 2024
University of Calgary
Effect of Climate Change on Coral Reefs
Akshaya Segu
Analyzing The Correlation Between Biodiversity Indexes, Carbon Emissions, and Government Investment Into Public Transport to Identify Feasible Pathways to Improving Biodiversity in the Future
Ashank Chaturvedi, Atharva Rao, Joel Zou, Owen Kuang, and Yunhe Zhang
Optimizing Reforestation to Reduce the Effects of Climate Change by Fostering Biodiversity
Boyd Hamilton, Khadija Sheikh, Nicole Sun, and Talia Zhang
Impacts of Agricultural Activity on Fish Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems
Robert Lin, Shotaro Richardson, Arya Shahabi, Jasleen Randhawa, and Abigail Conley
Developing a Generative AI Model to Protect Biodiversity from Mining in Mainland United States of America
Ignacio Gimon, Ahyan Kabir, Pranav Pathak, and Aaron Tan
A Greener Tundra: The Impact of Climate Warming on Arctic Tundra Biodiversity
Jessica Bai
Enhancing Forest Fire Predictions with Sequential Models for Ecosystem Preservation and Public Safety
Eleanor Huang, Kyle Su, Anthony Hou, and Clement Zhou
AI’s Role in Identifying Sites of Landfill Through Deep Learning Models
Yixin (Sophie) Jiang, Daisy Xia, Yihan Wang, Vincent Zhengran Xiao, and Eric Tam
A Conditional Generative Adversarial Network to Simulate Species Coexistence Patterns
Audrey Li, Bella Jiao, Victoria Yan, and Wesley Deng
Winners
Winners of Canada’s National Big Data and AI Challenge
Optimizing Reforestation to Reduce the Effects of Climate Change by Fostering Biodiversity
Boyd Hamilton, Khadija Sheikh, Nicole Sun, and Talia Zhang
Impacts of Agricultural Activity on Fish Biodiversity in Freshwater Ecosystems
Robert Lin, Shotaro Richardson, Arya Shahabi, Jasleen Randhawa, and Abigail Conley
Enhancing Forest Fire Predictions with Sequential Models for Ecosystem Preservation and Public Safety
Eleanor Huang, Kyle Su, Anthony Hou, and Clement Zhou
AI’s Role in Identifying Sites of Landfill Through Deep Learning Models
Yixin (Sophie) Jiang, Daisy Xia, Yihan Wang, Vincent Zhengran Xiao, and Eric Tam
A Conditional Generative Adversarial Network to Simulate Species Coexistence Patterns
Audrey Li, Bella Jiao, Victoria Yan, and Wesley Deng
Dave Carter
National Research, Council
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Vivek Saahil
Manager – Strategic Business Analysis, Planning & Support, Pratt & Whitney Canada
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Nick Butt
Senior Outreach Coordinator at Let’s Talk Science
LinkedIn Icon
Joan Voasschaert
Data Science at AltaML
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Roland Kuhn
Principal Research Officer Digital Technologies
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Ryan Huron
Environmental & Social Risk Analytics, RBC
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Marta Wierzbicka Verby
Director Of Laboratory Operations at Deep Genomics
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Special Guests
Provides expertise and fosters connections with government academia, and industry to guide initiatives.
Edith Dumont
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
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Dr. Daniel Gruner
CTO, SciNet, UofT
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Dr. Bonnie Schmidt
CM, FRSC, Founding President, Let’s Talk Science
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Dr. Joel Levine
Chair, UofT, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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The Honourable Kirsty Duncan
PC, MP
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Dr. Marsha Chechik
Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
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Jyoti Gondek
Mayor of the City of Calgary
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Dr. Joel Martin
NRC’s Chief Digital Research Officer and Chief Science Officer
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Dr. Ed McCauley
President, University of Calgary
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Rajan Sawhney
MLA Calgary-North West, Minister of Advanced Education of Alberta
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Court Ellingson
MLA Calgary Foothills, Critic for Technology & Innovation
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eastern Canada Finals
Toronto, ON, February 16, 2024
Microsoft Canada Headquarters
Utilizing Generative Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to Pinpoint High Squirrel Activity Areas for Improved Biodiversity Protection
William Zhao and Miriam Tay
Advancing Carbon Credit Accuracy: A Machine Learning Approach for Precise Carbon Sequestration Estimation
Eric Mao, Tom Zheng, Chengtai (Richard) Li, Ken Cheng, and Hudson Haas
Assessing and Predicting the Impacts of Lithium Extraction from Brines on Flamingo Populations in Chile’s Atacama Desert
Oliver de Boer, Aiden Hua, James Li, and Jasman Cheema
From Pixels to Protection: Artificial Intelligence in Species Identification for Biodiversity Conservation
Joyi Xue, Sunni Xue, and Irene Chen
Artificial Intelligence in Conservation: Predictive Modeling of Biodiversity Responses to Land Use Changes
Tishya Bhat, Rex Li, Sam Liu, Anerie Patel, and Ryan Xiong
How News Media and Scholarly Articles Impact the Public Interest in Emerald Ash Borers
Ray Zhangxu, Peter Luo, Jimmy Li, and Ethan Kuan
Leveraging Semantic Segmentation to Perform Wildfire Prediction
David Shan, Jacob Jansen, Mathis Luo, Robbie Muranaka, and Jeff Qiu
Utilizing Spatial Analysis to Identify Correlations between Plant Species and Biological Variety to Determine Traits that Foster Biodiversity in Ecosystems
Kadhir Ponnambalam, Michael Xiao, Richard Han, Vincent Jia, Zachary Yu
Analyzing Urban Heat Islands and their Impact on monarch Butterfly Population
Ibrahim Khawar, Ibrahim Ansari, Alia Wahban, and Amy Li
Using BirdNET and AI to Build a Conservation Platform for At-Risk Bird Species
Ruby Gao, Emma Ma, Abby Wang, and Maggie Wang
A Multivariate Analysis on The Relationship Between Biodiversity and the Climate
Aromal Mihraj, Anshuman Shah, Jasmeet Saini, Rohith Iruku, and Thanosan Prathifkumar
Winners
Winners of Canada’s National Big Data and AI Challenge
Utilizing Generative Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to Pinpoint High Squirrel Activity Areas for Improved Biodiversity Protection
William Zhao and Miriam Tay
Advancing Carbon Credit Accuracy: A Machine Learning Approach for Precise Carbon Sequestration Estimation
Eric Mao, Tom Zheng, Chengtai (Richard) Li, Ken Cheng, and Hudson Haas
From Pixels to Protection: Artificial Intelligence in Species Identification for Biodiversity Conservation
Joyi Xue, Sunni Xue, and Irene Chen
Artificial Intelligence in Conservation: Predictive Modeling of Biodiversity Responses to Land Use Changes
Tishya Bhat, Rex Li, Sam Liu, Anerie Patel, and Ryan Xiong
Leveraging Semantic Segmentation to Perform Wildfire Prediction
David Shan, Jacob Jansen, Mathis Luo, Robbie Muranaka, and Jeff Qiu
Analyzing Urban Heat Islands and their Impact on monarch Butterfly Population
Ibrahim Khawar, Ibrahim Ansari, Alia Wahban, and Amy Li
Dave Carter
National Research, Council
LinkedIn Icon
Vivek Saahil
Manager – Strategic Business Analysis, Planning & Support, Pratt & Whitney Canada
LinkedIn Icon
Nick Butt
Senior Outreach Coordinator at Let’s Talk Science
LinkedIn Icon
Joan Voasschaert
Data Science at AltaML
LinkedIn Icon
Roland Kuhn
Principal Research Officer Digital Technologies
LinkedIn Icon
Ryan Huron
Environmental & Social Risk Analytics, RBC
LinkedIn Icon
Marta Wierzbicka Verby
Director Of Laboratory Operations at Deep Genomics
LinkedIn Icon
Special Guests
Provides expertise and fosters connections with government academia, and industry to guide initiatives.
Edith Dumont
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
LinkedIn Icon
Dr. Daniel Gruner
CTO, SciNet, UofT
LinkedIn Icon
Dr. Bonnie Schmidt
CM, FRSC, Founding President, Let’s Talk Science
LinkedIn Icon
Dr. Joel Levine
Chair, UofT, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
LinkedIn Icon
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan
PC, MP
LinkedIn Icon
Dr. Marsha Chechik
Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
LinkedIn Icon
Jyoti Gondek
Mayor of the City of Calgary
LinkedIn Icon
Dr. Joel Martin
NRC’s Chief Digital Research Officer and Chief Science Officer
LinkedIn Icon
Dr. Ed McCauley
President, University of Calgary
LinkedIn Icon
Rajan Sawhney
MLA Calgary-North West, Minister of Advanced Education of Alberta
LinkedIn Icon
Court Ellingson
MLA Calgary Foothills, Critic for Technology & Innovation
LinkedIn Icon
Highlights
Photo & video feedback of the participants
CTVNews | Calgary high school students compete in finals of national AI challenge
Ten teams from across the country competed at the University of Calgary Friday for the 2025 National High School Big Data and AI Challenge Finals, with projects aimed at tackling serious problems including youth suicides, teen drug use, and school shootings.

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Previous Project
HSBDC
2024
Harnessing AI and Open Data Analytics to Combat Social Inequities Among Adolescents
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HSBDC
2023
Leveraging Generative AI and Data Cybersecurity to Conserve and Foster Local Biodiversity
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HSBDC
2022
Fair Housing: a Blueprint for Equity in Life, Work and Play
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HSBDC
2021
Cleaner Energy at the Individual and Community Levels
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HSBDC
2020
Using the Power of Open Data to Learn: Paving the Path to True Equality and Equal Access in Education
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HSBDC
2019
New Climate and Information Realities: From Oceans to Glass of Water
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HSBDC
2018
Sustainability: Think Global and Act Local with Big Data
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