NEXT 2019 Special Awards

Magellan Award

This award recognizes students who have completed solutions in the 6 competitive categories.

DaVinci Award

This award is offered for exceptional creativity (not skill or talent), a unique approach to the problem, and/or risk taking.

Renaissance Award

This award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award (Spirit of DI)

This award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism, and Sportsmanship.

Torchbearer Award (for Project Outreach)

This award honors teams and/or individuals whose solutions have had extraordinary impact in and beyond the local community.

This award recognizes students who have completed solutions in the 6 competitive categories.

*Indicates that the participant also completed a Rising Stars challenge

This award is offered for exceptional creativity (not skill or talent), a unique approach to the problem, and/or risk taking.

Allen High School (Allen ISD)

Timiney

750-45271

On Target (Technical - Secondary Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding overall creativity in a presentation. The team’s acting and characterizations were original and well done,and their silicone makeup was out of this world! The innovative aspects of the props and humorous story-line made this team truly stand out!

Individual award for - Ny Huynh

Allen High School (Allen ISD)

Andrews

750-71683

Head’s Up (Improvisational - Secondary Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding creativity in comedic improvisation. This team member truly presented such creativity while performing on the spot. Her humor and comedic talent truly shone. The appraisers thought her creative performance was professional stand up quality - she was amazing and so entertaining to watch!

Cheatham/Vaughan/Preston (Allen ISD)

Obermeyer

750-66906

On Target (Technical - Middle Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding creativity and innovation in costumes and props. This team demonstrated innovative use of materials and outstanding execution. Particularly great examples were a candy wrapper dress and a rug.

Evans Elementary (Allen ISD)

Bose

750-48991

Medical Mystery (Scientific - Elementary Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding overall creativity in their performance and story. Their music and piano performance highlighted the teams musical creativity. They took the challenge to the next level by presenting “Triple Vision” (instead of “double vision”) in the story. It was truly a unique take on the challenge!

Fisher Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Van Slingerland

750-23649

On Target (Technical - Elementary Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding creativity and innovation in their props, costumes, and performance. They used trash items in unusual ways to create beautiful costumes and props. When the technical part of the presentation went longer than they expected, they improvised an encouraging chant to cheer their team on. Who knew trash could be so exciting and cool!

Independant

Ganeshan

750-00509

Medical Mystery (Scientific - Middle Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding creativity and innovation in their solution. They used a documentary setting to allow the audience to understand and enjoy the performance. Their clay model of the brain used shading and lighting in unusual ways. Their symptomatic involved a projected MIT schematic of the brain that the team created using a specialized 3-D animation program.

Isbell Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Classe

750-99783

Game On (Fine Arts - Elementary Level)

This DaVinci Award was given for outstanding creativity and innovation in their props and costumes. The creative expression used throughout the presentation was so unique! Their container was embellished with 4000 bottle caps, corks, and wood chips. They hammered metal caps into flower petals, and their life-like dragon masks were amazing. The team collected items for months from recycling bins, and painted each one into mosaic designs. The collaboration of different materials, design, and use of color was magnificent! This trash-to-treasure team collaboration really paid off!

This award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

Allen/Borchardt Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Sarda/Adhikari

750-03959

Monster Effects (Engineering- Elementary Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design and engineering. The team wowed the appraisers with their careful selection of a combination of wood and wire to integrate the trigger mechanisms into the structurally efficient wooden framework. The team fabricated coil springs and mounted them to create an elevated pressure plate. The springs allowed the weights placed to reduce the coil spacing and eventually make contact with a trigger mechanism that initiated a trash recycling feature. The team creatively integrated trash items to create beautiful costumes as well.

Andrews Elementary (Plano ISD)

Sateesh

750-09593

Medical Mystery (Scientific - Elementary Level)

This team was nominated for exceptional skill in performance in Instant Challenge.

Boals Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Kuminski

750-89033

Game On (Fine Arts - Elementary Room 1)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design and engineering. This elementary team used Scratch to created an interactive digital presentation that helped tell their murder mystery. The digital presentation included voice acting, sound effects, original music, vector art, and animated digital characters. The team’s Game Gizmo involved a Makey Makey, team-created created foil CLUE cards, and a team member as part of a circuit that sent a signal to the computer to initiate animated interviews. It was amazing!

Borchardt Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Tyagi

750-93027

On Target (Technical- Elementary Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design, engineering, and performance. This team’s performance was energetic and clever. Their aircraft and payload mechanism was ingenious and innovative. They used needles to deflate balloons at just the right moment.

Independant

Chaturvedi

750-29259

On Target (Technical- Senior Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design and engineering. The team built their entire drone from scratch, and used it to great effect. Their payload drops were incredibly accurate. Excellent overall execution!

Independant

Lakra

750-89033

Medical Mystery (Scientific - Middle Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design and engineering. This team showed the effectiveness of using prototypes in the design process, and their final Symptomatic machine was a wonder of simple machine engineering. It included a coat rack, multiple pulleys and levers, and a rolling platform. The complex design represented DNA, and the team sihouetted an embryo in an egg made from paper and chicken wire.

Independent

Manne

750-34028

Escape Artists (Service Learning - Middle Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design. The team recreated a scale version of a haunted house the build for their service project. It was a sensory haunted house that raised money for “It’s a Sensory World”. The elements of the haunted house were designed to offer families a way to rick or tread in a sensory friendly environment for special needs children. They used a multi-section PVC design that used recycled materials to create a candy land section, a tree with ghosts, pumpkins & lights, and an inflatable police car made from trash bags.

Maus Middle School (Frisco ISD)

Ravindran

750-43257

Escape Artists (Service Learning - Middle Level)

This team was nominated for exceptional skill in design and engineering in Instant Challenge.

Newman Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Rivera

750-92705

Medical Mystery (Scientific - Elementary Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding design. This team demonstrated truly unique and well executed prop and scenery design skills. They created amazing parachutes, and developed a unique way of hanging props in their scenery. They created an Amazon backdrop and a truly impressive snake prop.

Reedy High School (Frisco ISD)

Raghuvanshi

750-76541

Medical Mystery (Scientific - Senior Level)

This Renaissance Award was given for outstanding engineering, design, and performance. This team created a water pump that filled tubes going through a pictorial representation of the brain. It siphoned blue and red water throughout the prop. After 3 months and 3 prototypes, they used bottle caps and tubes to create the hand-made water pump. Their story focused on how schizophrenia affects the brain, and the science behind how it affects people. It was truly a memorable and thought provoking story, presented with and supported by amazing design and engineering.

Spirit of Discovery and imagination - This award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism, and Sportsmanship.

Ashley Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Ayyagari

750-19097

Escape Artists (Project Outreach - Middle Level)

This team had to chose between two important scoring elements (piano vs light) right before their performance started. They pulled together, discussed the problem, and voted on which path to take. The removal of the piano left a team member singing a capella, but she did it with grace!

Individual award for - Eric Fair

Boon Elementary (Allen ISD)

Fair

750-36400

On Target (Technical Elementary Level)

This team member truly stood out! He showed outstanding emotional intelligence, teamwork, and leadership skills. His calm demeanor and humble spirit truly impressed the appraisers.

Grace Covenant Academy

Smith

750-39632

Game On (Fine Arts - Elementary Level - Room 1)

This took the “Spirit of DI” and turned it into a wonderful, uplifting story. They incorporated their optimistic spirits and made it come to life in their presentation. They made sure to highlight the importance of looking on the brighter side of things even if life gives nothing but hardships.

Independence High School (Frisco ISD)

Duggirala

750-55287

On Target (Technical - Senior Level)

The team figured out creative ways to keep presenting even when things did not go as planned. Their message about the ozone layer was entertaining and inspiring, and truly connected with everyone in the room.

Independent

Behunin

750-02915

On Target (Technical - Elementary Level)

This team faced many challenges, but kept smiling through them all. They had to rework their aircraft design two days before the tournament, and they had issues with electricity and costumes during the performance. However, they kept their composure and worked hard and fast to solve the problem!

Riddle Elementary (Frisco ISD)

Usmani

750-64867

Game On (Fine Arts - Elementary Level - Room 2)

This team was nominated for exceptional teamwork and sportsmanship in Instant Challenge.

PROJECT OUTREACH TORCHBEARER AWARD 

This award honors teams and/or individuals whose solutions have had extraordinary impact in and beyond the local community.

No Torch Bearer awards were awarded at the 2019 tournament.