Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy

Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy and John Glenn High School teams win $62.5K in scholarships and STEM grants in A.H. Nickless Innovation Award

12-year total of scholarships and grants awarded through annual competition exceeds $760K

University Center, MICH., April 28, 2025 – Over the weekend, eight teams of students representing four local schools presented the output of months of research and development in an annual competition that promotes innovation and creative thinking among high school students in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

 Following the finale event for the 12th annual A.H. Nickless Innovation Award competition on April 26 at Saginaw Valley State University’s Alan W. Ott Auditorium, three teams of students from Saginaw and Bay counties went home with a combined total of $27,500 in scholarships for themselves and another $35,000 in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education grants for their schools. Each winning team also will receive a customized plaque.

 The three winning teams were:

• First place: Altitude Angels from Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (Saginaw Public Schools)
  Prizes: $5,000 scholarship per student team member and a $20,000 STEM education grant for the school

• Second place:

  The STEMatic Trio from John Glenn High School in Bay City (Bangor Township Schools)
  Prizes: $2,500 scholarship per student team member and a $10,000 STEM education grant for the school

• Third place:

  The Supporters from Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (Saginaw Public Schools)
  Prizes: $1,000 scholarship per student team member and a $5,000 STEM education grant for the school

Other schools represented at the event were Freeland High School (Freeland Community School District) and Midland High School (Midland Public Schools).

Additional information regarding the top three teams and their projects follows.

First place: Altitude Angels, Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy

Team Leader Blaise Maliskey and teammates Miriam Haddad and Akhilesh Kanmanthreddy, coached by SASA teacher Clara Wagner, created AeroSafe, an oxygen-sensing device for pilots that automatically deploys oxygen masks during hypoxia encounters, enhancing aviation safety.

 “It is imperative that corporate aviation begin to utilize a more reliable preventative measure that protects both pilots and passengers during every hypoxia encounter,” the team members wrote in their final project report. “AeroSafe is an automated solution that provides guaranteed lifesaving oxygen to all aircraft occupants.”

 In addition to receiving the scholarships, grant and plaque, the first-place team also will get to display the competition’s 3D-printed traveling trophy at their school for the next year. The team members’ names will be engraved on the trophy permanently.

Second place: The STEMatic Trio, John Glenn High School, Bay City

Team Leader Emma Dabrowski and teammates Madalyn Hughes and Aubrey Beson, coached by John Glenn teacher Shawn Maison, created Hydro-Roofing, an innovative water-insulated roofing system with solar panels to supply energy to houses to reduce climate change.

Third place: The Supporters, Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy

Team Leader Isabella Monville and teammates AtaLaya Lopez, Aditya Veera, Amos Miller and Orion Moya, also coached by Wagner, created the Clippee, which stabilizes mobility aids by attaching them to a nearby surface, allowing the aids to remain upright and within reach when not in use.

Fostering student innovation for more than a decade

Presented by the Nickless Family Charitable Foundation, the A.H. Nickless Innovation Award is an annual competition for high school students ages 13 to 18 in Bay, Midland, Saginaw and Tuscola counties. Its goal is to inspire passion for STEM subjects and challenge students to work in teams to think innovatively and develop solutions to problems impacting the world. Topics typically include – but are not limited to – issues related to alternative energy, healthcare, science, technology or life sciences.

The 2024-25 competition marked the 12th year of the A.H. Nickless Innovation Award. Since the first competition in 2013-14, $763,500 has been awarded to participants and their schools, including $378,500 in student scholarships and $385,000 in STEM education grants. In all, more than 550 students have developed and presented a total of nearly 180 team projects in Phase Two of the competition during the competition’s first 12 years.

Phase One registration and abstract submission for the 13th annual competition, which will span the 2025-26 academic year, begins Sept. 3 on the Register page at ahninnovationaward.com.

The A.H. Nickless Innovation Award was created by the Nickless Family Charitable Foundation to honor the memory of the late Arthur H. Nickless, a local innovator and owner of Wolverine Telephone Company. With a goal of inspiring passion for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the competition is open to high school students in Bay, Midland, Saginaw and Tuscola counties and awards up to $77,500 per year in scholarships to students and STEM grants to schools. A total of more than $760,000 has been awarded since the first competition in 2013-14. For more information, visit ahninnovationaward.com.