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FishTank Sustainability Design Challenge teams get ready for Pitch Day
The 5th annual FishTank Sustainability Design Challenge teams are gearing up for Pitch Day, where they will present innovative solutions to Hawai’i Island’s myriad problems with Food Security.
Each of this year’s FishTank competitors have submitted their:
Engineering Design Notebook
10-page Technical Summary of the solution
10-minute pre-recorded Pitch Presentation
Presentation Slide Deck
5-minute “lightning pitch” script
FishTank judges will evaluate the materials and select five finalists for a live Pitch Day presentation. The finalists will also have the opportunity to rehearse on April 5.
Pitch Day takes place on Saturday, April 12 at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Science & Technology Building. The judges will evaluate each finalist team’s presentation with an eye on explanation of their innovation, organization of the materials, speaking skills and body language, and overall pitch.
In addition to the student competition presentations, Pitch Day will feature guest speakers and an awards presentation. While the event is open to the public, preference will be given to the competitors’ family and friends, FishTank sponsors, the many volunteers, and NexTech supporters.
Members of the press and representatives from local STEM companies are encouraged to attend.
Register for the event at bit.ly/PITCHDAY2025. For more information, contact fishtank@nextechhawaii.org.
Pitch Day is the culmination of the four-month-long Sustainability Design Challenge.
This year’s Sustainability theme is Food Security, and each competing team of STEM students has chosen a specific problem to solve. As Pitch Day approaches, several milestones must be met.
To help the student teams develop their solution and prepare for Pitch Day, FishTank leaders, Subject Matter Experts, mentors, and other volunteers hosted a series of three virtual workshops. These workshops provided the competing teams with resources, updates on the timeline and deliverables, deadlines, and tools to navigate every step of the way.
Each workshop included Group discussions about listening and learning, encouraging each other, and sharing helpful resources to develop innovative solutions to Food Security issues in Hawai’i.
Launch Day Workshop - January 11
The information-packed Launch Day introductory workshop on January 11 provided a thorough orientation, discussion of Food Security issues, and access to learning materials.
The FishTank students and team coordinators were provided with several tools, resources, and methodologies to guide them through the 7-step Engineering Design Process. These included instructions on how to create and use an Engineering Design Notebook, as well as templates for developing a Technical Summary and presentation materials.
The Fish Food exclusive web portal provides access to all available resources, volunteer Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and recordings of the workshops and training sessions.
The following two virtual workshops dug deeper into the timeline and judging criteria, with details on reporting requirements, the design and modeling process, testing and evaluation of the solution, a dose of encouragement, peer-to-peer sharing, Q&A, and lots of ideas and inspiration.
Innovation Workshop - February 8
The Innovation Workshop allowed students to hear from guest speakers and last year’s FishTank team winners to learn more about the Engineering Design Process.
Zipline - Ian Denzer
“Design for the world you want to live in.”
First up was Ian Denzer, a mechanical engineer at Zipline, a drone delivery system company that wants to transform the way goods move. Denzer graduated from Kealakehe High School and went on to Yale, where he earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He shared a story about his involvement in developing an emergency medical supply delivery system using lightweight, quiet drones to serve rural and urban areas.
He talked about design engineering from the initial concept and vision at a high level and how each step leads to detailed product development and implementation. Denzer touched on various stages and considerations in mechanical and electrical engineering, software coding, and materials. The interactive discussion included Q&A from the FishTank teams about the evolution of the design process.
A key takeaway from Denzer’s Q&A with the FishTank teams was how to stay focused on the technology's intent and let the engineering design follow the human factors. Throughout his presentation, Denzer emphasized the importance of aligning human values and practicality in the Engineering Design Process.
The Potato Batteries
“It’s not about the requirements; it’s about the intended purpose.”
The second part of the Innovation Workshop was led by the “famous” Potato Batteries team members: Gavin Wagner, Andrew Woolverton, Anwar and Rayann Genz, all students from Hilo High School grades 9 to 11, plus team coordinator Terry Wagner. The Potato Batteries team is a two-time FishTank Sustainability Design Challenge entrant, having taken Second Place in 2023 and First Place in 2024.
Their peer-to-peer presentation shared the stories of the Potato Batteries journey starting in 2023 when the team first formed and learned about Sustainable Development Goals for Hawai’i Island. At that time, the team decided to focus on two key areas: Clean & Available Energy Development, and Combating Climate Change.
One reason the Potato Batteries chose to focus on these problems is that they are all members of a Boy Scout Troop that does a lot of camping together. In addition to all the camping gear and supplies, the Troop had to lug around a diesel generator for their campouts. They wanted to devise a cleaner solar energy system to replace this noisy, heavy, and cumbersome generator and its fossil fuel.
The team used Python to create a computer model of the problem, including energy needs, solar availability (weather conditions), cost-per-unit, and other criteria, to help determine specifications for a solar-powered battery. The computer model helped narrow down possible solutions and feasibility. That enabled the team to create a physical model using their electrical engineering skills to develop components. They tested the prototype on camping trips - and it worked great!
“It was nice to have hot water and lights on the camping trips without having to bring the diesel generator.”
The Potato Batteries’ solution was awarded Second Place in the 2023 competition. They accepted the FishTank Challenge again in 2024 – and won First Place.
For the 2024 competition, the team chose to focus on improving fertilization practices in farming. The Potato Batteries shared how the Engineering Design Process worked for them, starting with Brainstorming ideas to identify general and specific solutions for the project and identify materials needed that fit the budget.
They decided to develop a mobile App called Plant PALS (People Associated in Learning Sustainability) for local farmers. The app would help them make better decisions about what to plant and what soil nutrients would help produce higher crop yields—especially for “native-friendly” plants like kalo, ulu, and other local food crops.
While the Plant PALS App concept was simple, it required a lot of Xcode to make it easy for end-users to input various factors into the App for analysis, such as soil pH, plant species, amount of land available for growing, and other criteria. Then, the app would calculate which nutrients are needed to fertilize the soil and what quantity is needed.
“As the project advanced, community engagement became a critical factor.”
The Potato Batteries team spoke with folks at the Hawaii Food Basket, discussed some of the problems they encountered with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who also helped identify flaws in the concept and refine the Plant PALS App.
In addition to Q&A with the 2025 FishTank teams, the Potato Batteries offered guidance and tips to this year’s competitors:
Make a plan first
Focus on each step as the Engineering Design Process moves forward
Talk to people, especially prospective end-users for feedback on the practicality of the solution
“… and the story doesn’t end here.”
The Potato Batteries have not stopped developing their award-winning Plant PALS App. The team continues to work with local SMEs for tech guidance and testing, with the goal of getting it into the App Store.
Richard Turere
“My invention made peace with lions.”
In the third and final segment of the Innovation Workshop, the FishTank teams viewed an inspiring TED Talk video by Richard Turere, a middle school student in Kenya, who spoke about his mission to save his family’s cows from predatory lions. In this awesome story about how one young person can make a big difference, FishTank competitors got a real-life example of problem-solving and finding real-world solutions that protect food security and serve the community. Turere’s simple, often funny, and uplifting words conveyed valuable lessons about persistence in the face of failure and keeping your mind open to discovery.
Presentation Skills Training Workshop - March 15
The final phase of the Engineering Design Process is when the FishTank teams learn how to prepare for Pitch Day. The last of the three workshops began with a recap of how far the students have come, how well the teams have hit their deadlines and milestones, and team check-ins along the way.
How to create a compelling presentation slide deck.
Kellie Miyazu, Youth Education Director & Graphic Designer with the Youth Arts Services (YAS) at East Hawai’i Cultural Center gave a talk about how to create a winning slide presentation using elements of style:
Fonts matter - Choose fonts that convey emotion, set the tone, and create branding. Use one family of fonts to make it easier to read.
Presentation Text & Bullet Points - Avoid big blocks of text to improve flow, use bullets to highlight key talking points of the presentation.
Size matters - Do not put too much info onto one slide. Emphasize key selling points and then explain the details during the verbal script of the pitch.
Colors speak louder than words - Use color in text to reinforce messaging and highlight key information. Similar to choosing a font family, stick within a color palette that works for the branding and use accent colors to pop-out ideas or add emphasis.
Clean contrast - When using colors in text and background, go with high contrast for readability.
Basic design principles - Have a “hierarchy” of ideas and use it to arrange information. Make slides esthetically pleasing by balancing images and text. Eliminate distraction by consistent use of left, right, or centering of text on each slide.
It was also noted that when making the pitch, do not just stand there and read the slides to the audience. Instead, use presentation points as a visual aid to tell a story that inspires people to action.
How to tell a story that sells.
The following guest speaker, Sylvia Dahlby, a retired software sales executive with over 50 years of experience in advertising, sales, and marketing, discussed how to use storytelling to make a pitch more memorable and engaging for the competition judges.
This interactive discussion covered:
How to weave a good story into the pitch to make the message unique and meaningful - and create hope for the future of food security.
Why stories are an important part of Hawaiian culture in oli, mele and hula for sharing knowledge, evoking emotion and touching the soul.
How a compelling story can create the vision of a more food-secure future and bring innovative ideas to life.
The presentation offered examples of the basic story framework:
Story arc and the steps of hero’s journey
How stories are present in classrooms, books, movies
How our lives are all a collection of stories
How a good story can transform lives
Students were shown how every story answers three critical questions and how a storytelling pitch incorporates a series of steps to reach the goal, and solve the specific food-security problem each team has chosen to tackle.
This included ideas on how to tell a story that will:
Clearly identify the problem, clarify the stakes, and show why it’s important
Add emotion, empathy, humor, and drama
Position the solution as a plan that empowers the ability to make change
Build credibility, clarity, and trust
Make a strong Call To Action
In many ways, crafting a storytelling pitch follows its own engineering design process of testing and evaluating (rehearsing) and modifying and improving (making changes or adjustments) to fine-tune the presentation.
Congratulations to ALL the FishTank teams!
Of the five finalists who will make live presentations on Pitch Day, three teams will be chosen to win scholarships, cash awards, and prizes.
We are proud of all the STEM students participating in this year’s Sustainability Design Challenge. Every one of them is a winner for bringing their imagination, innovation, and solutions on how we can create a more food-secure future for Hawaii Island.