Southcrest Christian School students win eCYBERMISSION national title

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A seventh grade team from Southcrest Christian School competed in a National STEM competition bringing home a national title.

The seventh grade team investigated the use of centrifuge technology and distillation to clean the produced and flowback water that comes to the surface during fracking extraction. The water they purified was used in germination experiments where 95% of seeds grew successfully following the team’s treatment, showing the potential benefits of centrifuge and distillation technology in water purification.

The team includes seventh-graders Brex Stevens, Lucas Higgins, Lincoln Dooley and Jaxson Ferran. The team was led by team advisor Laura Stary.

About the eCYBERMISSION National Judging & Educational event:

The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) announced that teams MISSing Monarchs (6th grade), H2O Bros (7th grade), Cardio for Chemo (8th grade) and Urica (9th grade) are the national winners for their respective grade levels at the 21st annual eCYBERMISSION National Judging & Educational Event (NJ&EE). Each student from the winning teams has earned $10,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds at maturity.

The annual eCYBERMISSION NJ&EE took place June 26 - 29, welcoming more than 70 regional winners in grades six–nine from across the country. Over 1,800 teams participated in eCYBERMISSION, an online STEM competition for students that promotes teamwork, self-discovery and the real-life applications of STEM. During the competition, students are encouraged to identify a problem in their community and either research the problem using science or solve it using engineering. Teams advance through state and regional competitions for the chance to compete at the national level. The 20 finalist teams presented their eCYBERMISSION projects to a distinguished panel of judges, consisting of senior scientists and engineers from the Department of Defense and the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), as well as the eCYBERMISSION Team Advisor of the Year.

“The National Winners of eCYBERMISSION demonstrate the transformative power of STEM education and the ability of young minds to make a positive impact in their communities,” said Christina Weber, AEOP Cooperative Agreement Manager. “We congratulate this year’s exceptional teams for their dedication and innovative problem-solving skills.”

The 2023 eCYBERMISSION National Winners and their remarkable projects are as follows:

MISSing Monarchs – 6th grade: Raised awareness and implemented initiatives to sustain the declining monarch butterfly population, including seed distribution, engaging local officials, and establishing butterfly waystations. Team from Bay Sea Scouts in Bay Village, Ohio.

H2O Bros – 7th grade: Developed innovative methods using centrifuge technology and distillation to purify water from fracking extraction, achieving a 95% success rate in germination experiments. Team from Southcrest Christian School in Lubbock, Texas.

Cardio for Chemo – 8th grade: Designed a personalized app to help alleviate symptoms in cancer patients through exercise, utilizing digital wireframes and an app building platform for coding and testing. Team from West Middle School in Andover, Massachusetts.

Urica – 9th grade: Created a preventative solution for hyperuricemia using plants with beneficial properties, developing a safe, effective, and accessible product to combat uric acid build-up. Team from Metea Valley and Neuqua Valley High Schools in Naperville, Illinois.

Registration for the 2023-2024 eCYBERMISSION opens in the fall. For more information, visit www.ecybermission.com.