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Harnessing AI and Open Data Analytics to Combat Social Inequities Among Adolescents
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™
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Program Statistics
First Time Project
IUBDC
4/5
participants completed a research project for the first time
Four high school students closely examining and working on a notebook in a science classroom.
98%
success rate in manuscript publication,
90%
increase in event participants
real-world Skills
IUBDC
9/10
participants gained ML/AI skills and applied them in real-world context
High school students focused on coding laptops with AI technology graphics overlaid.
Panelists
Distinguished leaders from diverse fields who guide and oversee STEM Fellowship.
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Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch
Founder and President, STEM Fellowship
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Dr. Michael Duong
Interim Chair of the BOD
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Tim Herron
Treasurer, Independent Board Member
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Adrian Stanley
Independent Board Member
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Christina Hewitt
Independent Board Member
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Vanessa Chan
Treasurer, Independent Board Member
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Judges
A youth-led committee of accomplished scholars and team leaders who plan, promote, and deliver programs.
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Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch
Founder and President, STEM Fellowship
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member profile image
Dr. Michael Duong
Interim Chair of the BOD
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member profile image
Tim Herron
Treasurer, Independent Board Member
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member profile image
Adrian Stanley
Independent Board Member
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Christina Hewitt
Independent Board Member
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Henry Weinman
Independent Board Member
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Vanessa Chan
Treasurer, Independent Board Member
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Stephanie Bach
Independent Board Member
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Special Guests
Provides expertise and fosters connections with government academia, and industry to guide initiatives.
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Stephanie Bach
Independent Board Member
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Finalists' Manuscripts
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
Social Media: The Influencer of Mental Health
Yeonjae Oh, Milanda Luo, Ying Wa Ng
Investigating the Influence of Poverty on High School Graduation Rates: An Analysis of the Impact of Socioeconomic Inequities on Adolescents
Arnav Sinha, Harper Yang, Justin Nguyen, Lucien Lin, and Richard Gao
Defining the Effects of Legislation and Political Attitudes on K-12 School Shootings: 2010-2022
Robert Lin, James Mar, Vanessa Wang, Elaine Wang, and Jordan Chen
Predicting Opioid Use Disorders in the U.S. Using Machine Learning Among Adolescents Receiving Mental Health Services
C. Rong, Akshat Mathur, Sanjay A Jaganmohan
Impact of Health Inequality on Adolescent Fertility Rate and Abortion Rate
Riley Jin, Ella Zhang, and Sophia Na
Winners
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
Investigating the Influence of Poverty on High School Graduation Rates: An Analysis of the Impact of Socioeconomic Inequities on Adolescents
Arnav Sinha, Harper Yang, Justin Nguyen, Lucien Lin, and Richard Gao
Defining the Effects of Legislation and Political Attitudes on K-12 School Shootings: 2010-2022
Robert Lin, James Mar, Vanessa Wang, Elaine Wang, and Jordan Chen
Highlights
Photo & video feedback of the participants
Two young women standing indoors, one identified as Vanessa Wang, Grade 12 student and finalist, speaking during an interview.
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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