Charter School of Wilmington wins national STEM Competition and $100K

Students from the Charter School of Wilmington have been named National Winners of the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition, taking home a $100,000 prize package for their groundbreaking healthcare innovation.

The Delaware high schoolers earned top honors after presenting their project live to a panel of judges in Washington, D.C., on April 28.

Their winning solution, the “AKQUA-Gel hydrogel bandage,” tackles the state’s growing physician shortage by enabling remote wound monitoring through advanced technology.

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The smart bandage integrates AI-powered features, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and 3D-printed components to track key wound-healing indicators such as moisture, pH, and oxygen levels.

Linked to a mobile app, the device allows both patients and doctors to monitor wounds in real time—potentially cutting down hospital visits and easing strain on overburdened healthcare systems.

Delaware has been hit especially hard by a shortage of medical professionals, with some counties experiencing wait times for primary care that have surged nearly 200%.

The students designed the AKQUA-Gel to be part of the solution, aiming to increase access to care and improve patient outcomes through smart, accessible technology.

“We need to decide how to use the reward, but I am hoping some of it will be put towards helping more solutions be designed and having more students apply for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow,” said Cindy Tanzer, math teacher at the Charter School of Wilmington. “We want students to better the world around them, and Samsung has inspired us to pursue this competition further in hopes to design user-oriented solutions to real world problems and challenges.”

Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition challenges students nationwide to use STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) to solve real-world problems.

“To compete at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow at a high level means starting from a place of empathy to design a product to help solve a need using technology,” Tanzer said. “My team designed a smart bandage that was inspired by the doctor and nurse shortage. Patients have longer wait times to book appointments at hospitals than ever before and we want to help nurses and doctors by allowing patients to use the smart bandage so the user and the medical staff can better monitor signs of infection outside of the hospital. Through the app, patients can connect with medical staff as needed and see in real time if their wound is showing signs of infection. The other finalists similarly had products that came from places of empathy, and Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is truly an inspirational competition.”

Watch the Charter School of Wilmington team’s project video here.