Five Grand Prize Winners Announced in the $2 Million Samsung Solve for Tomorrow National Education Contest

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., March 25, 2014 /3BL Media/ – Samsung announced today the five grand prize winners in its nationwide Solve for Tomorrow contest, a competition to raise enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education among U.S. public school students. The five grand prize winners were chosen from more than 2,300 schools from across the country. The five grand prize winners listed below will receive technology from Samsung, Adobe Foundation, and DIRECTV.

G.W. Carver Middle School, Miami, FL           
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/old-smokeys-dirty-secret.html

Sunburst Jr. High School, Sunburst, MT
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/blowing-away-alkali.html

Oliver Street School, Newark, NJ
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/guarding-the-water-supply.html

Academy at Palumbo, Philadelphia, PA
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/finding-the-safest-route.html

East Valley High School, Yakima, WA
http://www.samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/projects/cooling-off-a-region.html

G.W. Carver Middle School won the Community Choice Award with nearly 11,000 public online votes; East Valley High School won the Samsung Employees Choice Award; and the other three winners were chosen by a panel of judges. Each of the five winning schools receive more than $140,000* in technology products such as smart boards, LED TVs, and laptops.

“To see how the students engage with STEM as well as with each other and their community during their Solve for Tomorrow experience is truly wonderful,” said David Steel, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics North America. “We hope the excitement and the substance of what each of these schools achieved through their project will serve as inspiration for even greater accomplishments in the future. Congratulations to the top five winners and all of those who participated this year. We hope the challenge of this contest, together with the technology for winning schools, will help spark students’ passion to pursue careers in STEM that help make the world a better place.”

All five winners will be honored in a special Washington, D.C. ceremony on April 30. More than 2,300 schools from every state across the country entered the contest in August with an essay response on how STEM can help their community. Five schools from each state plus D.C., a total of 255 schools, were selected as state finalists and received Samsung Galaxy Tabs. They moved onto the next phase of the contest where 51 state winners were selected to receive a camcorder, laptop, and Adobe editing software to create videos to compete in the video phase of the contest that answered the challenge: Show how STEM can improve your community.

Fifteen national finalists also competed in an in-person project pitch event at SXSWedu in Austin where they presented their project to a panel of judges. The prize package for the 15 national finalists includes a special service plan with a dedicated school support contact, on-site product training and maintenance service, online training, and an extended warranty plan.

The Solve for Tomorrow contest is part of Samsung Hope for Children, the company’s philanthropic initiative focused on helping children lead healthier, smarter, and more sustainable lives. Since 2002, Samsung and its partners have provided cash, technology and volunteer hours to more than 750 schools and community organizations in the United States. Samsung continues to support children’s education by providing tools that empower young people to learn through a variety of STEM initiatives, including the company’s Mobile Application Academies and a partnership with the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF).

* Estimated Retail Value

About Samsung Electronics North America
Samsung Electronics North America (NAHQ), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is an arm of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American brand management including Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC and Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, Samsung is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com. You can also Fan Samsung on www.facebook.com/SamsungUSA or follow Samsung via Twitter @SamsungTweets.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, tablets, personal computers, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 286,000 people across 80 countries with annual sales of US$216.7 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

CONTACT:
Theresa Cha
Samsung Electronics North America
201-229-4032
tcha@sea.samsung.com

Danielle Meister Cohen
Edelman
212-704-8160
danielle.cohen@edelman.com