2025-2026
High School Big Data Challenge ™
Conferences
Project:
Leveraging Big Data and AI to Strengthen Food Security and Promote Sustainable Agriculture
CANADA EAST CONFERENCE
February 11, 2026
Date
Toronto, Ontario
Location
University of Toronto Hart, House Building, Great Hall
Place
Winners
We are still gathering the photos :)
Impact of Climate Change on US Wheat Yields Using Machine-Learning Forecasting
Jed Lin, Danny Zhang, Hudson Haas, Darius Aul
A Data-Driven Optimization Engine For Precision Irrigation Scheduling in Ontario Soil
Marton Galicza, Yuhong Chen, Jack Wilson, Stuart Li
AI Dashboard for Crop Planning in Alberta and Saskatchewan
Amelia Geng
Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Food Security Factors
Aaditya Bansal, Tristin Lucas Liu, Ryan Wang Yan, Ekam Singh Virk
Climate Driven Forecasting of Wheat Pathogen Outbreaks in North America
Gurnoor Kaur
Predictive Modeling of Canadian Crop Production Under Current Climate Conditions
Geetika Choudhury
Predictive Modeling of Northern Canada Food Price Volatility: A Hybrid Linear-Tree Approach
Junran (Charlotte) Hu
Finalists’ Research
AgroVision: Spatiotemporal Deep Learning for Large-Scale Crop Mapping and Food Security Assessment
Sofiya Zuykova, Bill Gu, Andrew Xiang, Valeria Zhao, Andy Li
Quantifying the Influence of Precipitation on Wheat Yield in Texas
Leo Tan, Andrew (Dingwang) Han, James Chee
Data Driven Crop Selection Using Soil And Climate Variables
Kevin Sun, Prithvvi Rana, Eshwar Sai Ganipineni, Ethan Liang
Coral Reef Degradation and Its Impact on Food Security in the Caribbean
Sofia Mazareanu, Mia Tutty, Melissa Falbo, Lilian Bella Gregory, Eunice Liang
Using Oceanographic Data to Identify High-Yield Kelp Farming Sites in British Columbia
Jedidiah Arimoro, James Harman, Eddie Clark, Eason Zhang, Kai Mcleod
AI for Evaluating Irrigation Impact on Crop Yield in Northern Nigeria
Sharon (Xinyu) Li, Emeline Wu, Yina Li, Jason Zhang, William Li
Urbanization and Agricultural Expansion: The Future of Ontario’s Farmland
Xinli Bu, Kyle Ding, Nayal Raza, Leqi Xiong, Jiashuo Zhang
Ameliorating the Intergenerational Impact of Agent Orange Exposure on Child Health Outcomes
Simon Zhang, Charley Qin, Kermit Ke, Jereme Niu, Emmett Yu
Leveraging Big Data and AI: Predicting Crop Yields for Climate-Resilient Food Security
Ken Deng, Harry Chen, Amy Feng, Everett Hamel, Marat Oz
Spatial Clustering and Changepoint Detection in Forecast Failure Analysis
Sofia Bodnar
Tears in the Safety Net: Investigating the Efficiency of Ontario’s Social Security
Ayesha Siddique, Zainab Siddique
Impact of Climate Change on US Wheat Yields Using Machine-Learning Forecasting
Jed Lin, Danny Zhang, Hudson Haas, Darius Aul
County-Level Corn Yield Prediction Using Multi-Source Data and Neural Networks
Jaideep Delow, Girish Nischal, Jan Ziv Prieto, Josh Durrant, Harjas Singh
A Data-Driven Optimization Engine For Precision Irrigation Scheduling in Ontario Soil
Marton Galicza, Yuhong Chen, Jack Wilson, Stuart Li
AI Dashboard for Crop Planning in Alberta and Saskatchewan
Amelia Geng
Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Food Security Factors
Aaditya Bansal, Tristin Lucas Liu, Ryan Wang Yan, Ekam Singh Virk
Climate Driven Forecasting of Wheat Pathogen Outbreaks in North America
Gurnoor Kaur
Predictive Modeling of Canadian Crop Production Under Current Climate Conditions
Geetika Choudhury
Predictive Modeling of Northern Canada Food Price Volatility: A Hybrid Linear-Tree Approach
Junran (Charlotte) Hu
Judges
Gracia Dong
Assistant Professor, Human Biology & Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto
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east
Lin Dong
Professor, Information Technology Management, Toronto Metropolitan University
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east
Lesley Campbell
Professor, Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University
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east
Daorui Han
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University
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east
Samuel Gyamerah
Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Toronto Metropolitan University
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east
Vivek Saahil
Manager – Strategic Business Analysis, Planning & Support, Pratt & Whitney Canada
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west
Stephanie Bach
President & Founder Bach it Up Agri-Consulting Ltd; Board Member, STEM Fellowship
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west
David Lapides
Vice President, Programs, Let’s Talk Science
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west
Guests/Dignitaries
Jinoj Titus
Senior Director, Enterprise Data Architecture, RBC | Inventor
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east
Wayne Cuervo
Director of DIO Americas, CISCO
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east
Todd Slivinskas
Director, Technology, Let’s Talk Science
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east
David Lapides
Vice President, Programs, Let’s Talk Science
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west
Stephanie Bach
President & Founder Bach it Up Agri-Consulting Ltd; Board Member, STEM Fellowship
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west
Salma Lakhani
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
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west
Dr. Joel Martin
NRC’s Chief Digital Research Officer and Chief Science Officer
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west
Edith Dumont
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
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east
Kelley Charlebois
Executive Director
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west
CANADA WEST CONFERENCE
February 20, 2026
Date
Calgary, Alberta
Location
University of Calgary Hunter Hub for Entepreneurial Thinking
Place
Winners
No items found.
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence Framework for Predicting Crop Yields in Canada's Agricultural Breadbasket
Shaayaan Aggarwal, Samir Khan, Arvind Raj, Kinjal Chatterjee, Elise Protti
From Harvest to Food Security: Machine Learning Forecasts for the United States
Cathy Rong, Renisa Ghosh, Safiya Taher, Sabrina Qian, Arthur
A Multivariate Analysis of the Influence of Soil Conditions on Wheat Yields
Akash Anand, Arnav Sinha, Lucien Lin, Richard Gao, Justin Nguyen
Predicting the Effects of Climate Anomalies on Yield Deviations of Major Crops
Treasure Atewologun, Harper Yang
Investigating the Significance of Weather Conditions on Cercospora Disease Development in Agriculture
Ronald Li, Cole Lam, Shicheng Zhang, Joy Samanta, Harsh Vadodariya
Predicting Child Stunting in Sub-Saharan Africa Using Socioeconomic, Environmental, and Agricultural Indicators
Chenwei Pan, Aiza Khwaja
Finalists’ Research
Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Architectures for Canadian Crop Yield Forecasting
Tony Moon, Benjamin Zhang, Joe Hu, Leo Qin
Predicting Sub-National Food Crises Using Machine Learning and Climate Data
Stephen Yang, Dipto Sikdar, Manhaar Singh, Kian Gholami, Daniel Solano
The Effects of Nitrogen Based Fertilizer on the Environment in Alberta
Ali Iqbal, Carter Zhang, Tiger Yang, Aiden Xiong, Jason Xiong
The Digital Threshold: Uncovering Non-Linear Relationships Between Technology and Agricultural Productivity
Eric Huang, John Zhang Chen, Ryan Li, Wenny Li, Lucas Chen
Global Food Misdistribution –– The Fundamental Barrier to “Zero Hunger”
Eileen Tang, Joshua Yuhua Wang, Andy Hu, Daniel Durrant
The Impact of Native Soil Microbiota and Environmental Variables on Agricultural Sustainability
Mugdha Paul, Jaden Lau, Lucas Alonso, Xing Gao, Aprille Cui
Aquaculture Practices In China And Effects On Undernourishment Rates In Neighbouring Countries
Baran Homafar, Ashley Chen, Rajdeep Ahuja, An Huynh, Quinn Reilly
Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Maize Yields in Sub-Saharan Africa
Alexander Chong, Aaron He, Austin Zhan, Jonas Huang
Adoption of AI in Agriculture For Sustainability and Accessibility For Those In Need
Ryan Xia, Michael Lee
Investigating the Impact of Soil Organic Carbon Levels on Canadian Maize Yields
Misha Kapadia, Carrie Ma, Karrie Chen, Allan Pan
Comparing Convolutional Neural Networks and Vision Transformers for Maize Leaf Disease Detection Using Large-Scale Image Data
Maya Rajpar, Maya Liang, Kimia Sharifi
Comparing CNN and Microbial Models for Shelf Life Prediction in Perishable Foods
Aidan Homafar, Timothy Leung, Kayley Fong, Maral Salbashian, Aydin Cheung
A Data-Driven Analysis of Cover Crops, Food Insecurity, and Obesity
Sania Grewal, Cynthea Yuan, Riya Ravikumar, Sarah Hoda
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence Framework for Predicting Crop Yields in Canada's Agricultural Breadbasket
Shaayaan Aggarwal, Samir Khan, Arvind Raj, Kinjal Chatterjee, Elise Protti
From Harvest to Food Security: Machine Learning Forecasts for the United States
Cathy Rong, Renisa Ghosh, Safiya Taher, Sabrina Qian, Arthur
A Multivariate Analysis of the Influence of Soil Conditions on Wheat Yields
Akash Anand, Arnav Sinha, Lucien Lin, Richard Gao, Justin Nguyen
Predicting the Effects of Climate Anomalies on Yield Deviations of Major Crops
Treasure Atewologun, Harper Yang
Investigating the Significance of Weather Conditions on Cercospora Disease Development in Agriculture
Ronald Li, Cole Lam, Shicheng Zhang, Joy Samanta, Harsh Vadodariya
Predicting Child Stunting in Sub-Saharan Africa Using Socioeconomic, Environmental, and Agricultural Indicators
Chenwei Pan, Aiza Khwaja
Judges
Gracia Dong
Assistant Professor, Human Biology & Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto
LinkedIn Icon
east
Lin Dong
Professor, Information Technology Management, Toronto Metropolitan University
LinkedIn Icon
east
Lesley Campbell
Professor, Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University
LinkedIn Icon
east
Daorui Han
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University
LinkedIn Icon
east
Samuel Gyamerah
Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Toronto Metropolitan University
LinkedIn Icon
east
Vivek Saahil
Manager – Strategic Business Analysis, Planning & Support, Pratt & Whitney Canada
LinkedIn Icon
west
Stephanie Bach
President & Founder Bach it Up Agri-Consulting Ltd; Board Member, STEM Fellowship
LinkedIn Icon
west
David Lapides
Vice President, Programs, Let’s Talk Science
LinkedIn Icon
west
Guests
Jinoj Titus
Senior Director, Enterprise Data Architecture, RBC | Inventor
LinkedIn Icon
east
Wayne Cuervo
Director of DIO Americas, CISCO
LinkedIn Icon
east
Todd Slivinskas
Director, Technology, Let’s Talk Science
LinkedIn Icon
east
David Lapides
Vice President, Programs, Let’s Talk Science
LinkedIn Icon
west
Stephanie Bach
President & Founder Bach it Up Agri-Consulting Ltd; Board Member, STEM Fellowship
LinkedIn Icon
west
Salma Lakhani
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
LinkedIn Icon
west
Dr. Joel Martin
NRC’s Chief Digital Research Officer and Chief Science Officer
LinkedIn Icon
west
Edith Dumont
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
LinkedIn Icon
east
Kelley Charlebois
Executive Director
LinkedIn Icon
west
Photos
PREVIOUS Projects
2025-2026
Leveraging Big Data and AI to Strengthen Food Security and Promote Sustainable Agriculture
View Project
2024-2025
Harnessing AI and Open Data Analytics to Combat Social Inequities Among Adolescents
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2023-2024
Leveraging Generative AI and Data Cybersecurity to Conserve and Foster Local Biodiversity
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2022-2023
Fair Housing: a Blueprint for Equity in Life, Work and Play
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2021-2022
Cleaner Energy at the Individual and Community Levels
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2020-2021
Using the Power of Open Data to Learn: Paving the Path to True Equality and Equal Access in Education
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2019-2020
New Climate and Information Realities: From Oceans to Glass of Water
View Project
2018-2019
Sustainability: Think Global and Act Local with Big Data
View Project
Sponsors & Stakeholders
The 2026–2027 HSBDC sponsor and stakeholder network includes financial, educational, academic, and industry organizations generously supporting, contributing expertise, learning resources, conference venues and student awards.
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