These winning entries in the 2022 EngineerGirl Writing Contest showcase how engineers can help humanity meet one of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to first place, second place, third place, and honorable mention winners for each grade range, some essays received Special Topic Recognition. Each of these essays was selected from all entries – regardless of grade – as an excellent submission for the UN Sustainable Development Goal about which it was written.
Isha Gupta
5th grade at Daves Creek Elementary School
Hydroponics Engineering: A Solution to Global Food Crisis
First Place
Sawoo Youn
4th grade at Sugarloaf Elementary School (Urbana, MD)
Second Place
Hailey Silva
4th grade at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School (Apex, NC)
Third Place
Uma Blankinship
3rd grade at New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+M) (Brooklyn, NY)
Singling Out Single-Use Plastic
Honorable Mention
Microbes at Work by Evelynne
5th grade (San Ramon, CA)
Engineers Light the Way for Kids to Learn by Zora Miller
4th grade at Albany International Center (Albany, NY)
Reclaiming Energy with "My Combustion Machine" by Junseo Kwon
4th grade at Golden Elementary School (Yorba Linda, CA)
Everyone Needs Clean Water by Katherine Aikawa
4th grade at Duke School (Chapel Hill, NC)
Engineering is the Future of Clean and Affordable Energy by Mia Teusan
4th grade at Eastwoods Intermediate School (Hudson, OH)
The Tole of Engineering in Sustaining Life Below Water by Temiloluwa Adeyemo
5th grade homeschool student (Baltimore, MD)
The Road to Sustainable Cities by Jaya Srini
4th grade at Columbus Academy (Columbus, OH)
Fixing Carbonates to Sustain Life on Land by Nova Macknik-Conde
5th grade at P.S. 321 William Penn (Brooklyn, NY)
Early detection of Leukemia: Learning from Covid-19 rapid tests by Zoe Ralhan
5th grade at River Oaks Elementary (Houston, TX)
The Role of Engineering in Achieving Quality Education by Oluwatimilehin Adeyemo
4th grade homeschool student (Baltimore, MD)
Fight World Hunger with Engineering by Enrique Garcia
5th grade at Somerset Academy Boca (FL)
Chloe Weng
8th grade at Fort Settlement School (Sugar Land, TX)
Engineers Develop Diagnostic Devices for Global Health Using Frugal Innovation
First Place
Jalen Blackwell
6th grade at Gerstell Academy (Finksburg, MD)
Engineering Sustainable Solutions to End Global Hunger
Second Place
Julia Abu
8th grade at Victory Christian International School (Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines)
Honorable Mention
Claire Weng
7th grade at Fort Settlement Middle School (Sugar Land, TX)
Cleaning up the Oceans Using Sustainable Engineering
Honorable Mention
Sustainably Engineering to Solve Worldwide Goals by Ella Murphy
7th grade at Harpeth Hall School (Nashville, TN)
The new technology of 3-D printing by Gabriela Dyogi
8th grade at Ingrid B. Lacy School (Pacifica, CA)
Gender Equality Sustainability by N. Manning
7th grade at Harpeth Hall School (Nashville, TN)
Magical Mycelium: Engineering Our Way to a Sustainable Future by Taia Saurer
7th grade (CA)
The Wonderful Sleeping Bag-like Incubator, Embrace, Helps Babies Who Are Premature and Live in Countries That Are in Poverty by Audrey Kim
6th grade at Santiago Hills Elementary School (Irvine, CA)
Megan Haubrich
11th grade at Fred C. Beyer High School (Modesto, CA)
Engineering Magic: Harvesting Water From Thin Air
First Place
Audrey Lam
10th grade at Longmeadow High School (Longmeadow, MA)
Frugal Engineering Design Solutions in the Fight to Eradicate Malaria
Second Place
Katherine Liu
9th grade at Clements High School (Sugar Land, TX)
Talking Books: Reducing Gender Inequalities Around the World
Third Place
Ellen Wang
11th grade at Lexington High School (Lexington, MA)
Engineering: Bridging Gratitude and Innovation
Honorable Mention
Engineering the Future of Education by Amelia Joseph
9th grade at Indus International School (Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
Water Accessibility For All: How Engineers Can Help Combat The Water Crisis by Srinidhi Gubba
11th grade at Westview High School (Portland, OR)
Making Sustainable Production a Reality for Small Farmers by Neha Sudarshan
10th grade at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (West Windsor, NJ)
GoldieBlox: Building Blocks for an Engineering Mind by Abigail Cooley
11th grade at Wissahickon High School (Ambler, PA)
Engineering for Inequalities: The Need for Infrastructure by Amélia Carneiro Zhu
10th grade at Oporto International School (Porto, Portugal)
MechanicalTrees™: Taking Inspiration From Mother Nature by Emily Huynh
10th grade at Leigh High School (San Jose, CA)
Arianna Huriash
5th grade at Eagle Ridge Elementary School (Tamarac, FL)
How can engineering help those in need without risking a sustainable future?
Caleb Adams
5th grade homeschool student (Baltimore, MD)
How Engineers Are Helping to Solve the Problem of World Hunger
Jennifer Chiou
11th grade (Parkland, FL)
Increasing Access to and Quality of Mental Health Care with Software Engineering
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Sravya Kotamraju
11th grade (Frisco, TX)
Charles Alexander Jr.
4th grade at Villa Cresta Elementary School (Parkville, MD)
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Asha Lyons
7th grade at Lausanne Collegiate School (Germantown, TN)
Engineering Solutions Towards Sustainable Water Access For All
Josh Dalal
11th grade at Edgemont High School (Scarsdale, NY)
SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
Nia-Omhle Lunga
5th grade at Farragut Intermediate School (Knoxville, TN)
ENGINEERING: The Key to Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Aahana Joshi
3rd grade at J.V.B Wicoff Elementary School (Plainsboro, NJ)
SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Amy Weston
11th grade at John Burroughs School (Chesterfield, MO)
Engineering the Future of Our Cities
SDG 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Alexa Rose Battaglia
9th grade at Manlius Pebble Hill School (Manlius, NY)
SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Tamiyah Ibeh
8th grade at Cooper Middle School (Powder Springs, GA)
SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Yeowon (Stella) Kim
10th grade at Crescenta Valley High School (La Canada Flintridge, CA)
Engineering: Healing Life Under Water
SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Kyu-Sun Kim
10th grade at Seoul International School (Seoul)
One Molka Eliminated for Woman, One Giant Leap for Womankind