Pre-College Competition
Data Science Challenge
The Rochester Pre-College Data Science Challenge 2025: The Ultimate Mission for a Healthier Planet.
Are You Ready to Make a Difference? We are excited to announce the Rochester Pre-College Data Science Challenge 2025, an extraordinary opportunity for high school students in the Greater Rochester area to embark on a mission that combines data science, environmental stewardship, and public health advocacy.
2025 Competition Results
1st Place (Gold)
Team: Statistically Significant
Captain: Stanislav Nadler (Pittsford Mendon High School)
Faculty Mentor: Mrs. Erica Bonin
2nd Place (Silver)
Team: Not Applicable
Captain: Siqi (Libby) Du (Pittsford Mendon High School)
Faculty Mentor: Mrs. Erica Bonin
3rd Place (Bronze)
Team: Chin-X
Captain: Howard Tang (Pittsford Mendon High School)
Faculty Mentor: Mrs. Andrea Lanctot
| Rank (w/ties) | Team | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Statistically Significant | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 2 | Not Applicable | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 3 | Chinx | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 4 | Correlation Nation | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 5 | Ethan S. Delan B, Lorenzo G. Will S. | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 6 | Data Knights 6 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 7 | Stats Team | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 8 | MOE (Margin Of Error) | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 9 | Stats Demons | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 10 | The Outliers | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 11 | Bonin's Team | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 11 | Mean Machines | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 13 | Data Knights 7 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 14 | Data Knights 0 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 14 | Chi Hards | Pittsford Mendon High School |
| 14 | Data Knights 8 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 17 | Data Knights 4 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 18 | Data Knights 2 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 19 | Data Knights 1 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 20 | Data Knights 5 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
| 21 | Data Knights 3 | McQuaid Jesuit High School |
Congratulations also to all the teams that competed and completed, with a special word of encouragement all the team members and their dedicated faculty mentors! I am personally very proud of all of you, and the graders and committee members felt the same! I commend all of you for courageously embarking on this fascinating journey of data science exploration! Well done! The celebration will take place on the RIT Campus on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025. The top three teams mentioned above will receive certificates of award. All the other teams that competed and submitted their final reports will receive a certificate completion.
With utmost gratitude to all!
Ernest Fokoué, PhD
Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics
Coordinator of the Rochester Pre-college Data Science Challenge
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Challenge: Two Crises, One Solution
The world faces a double-edged threat: environmental degradation and a growing array of public health crises. From cancers linked to pollutants to the rise of obesity and diabetes, the interplay between environmental and health issues is urgent and complex. We need YOU to become the problem-solvers of the future.
Your Mission (should you choose to accept it): Form a team of 3 to 5 high school students and work together as if you’ve been commissioned by the President of the United States or Congress. Your task is to identify specific connections between environmental challenges and public health issues, and then use data from around the globe to investigate and propose meaningful solutions.
How It Works:
- Frame Your Question: Choose a compelling intersection between the environment and public health—think air pollution and respiratory illnesses, or climate change and disease outbreaks. What problem will you tackle?
- Hunt for Data: Search the world for datasets that can help answer your question. This is your chance to work like real-world data scientists, using publicly available data from sources like the World Health Organization (WHO), NASA, the CDC, and beyond.
- Analyze and Innovate: Using data science techniques, uncover patterns, test hypotheses, and propose actionable solutions that could genuinely make the world a better place.
- Present Your Findings: Bring your ideas to life in a presentation that could inspire change at the highest levels of government. Imagine that your work could be the catalyst for new policies and actions to save lives and protect our planet!
Why Participate?
- Make Real Impact: Your research could shape the future of public health and environmental policies.
- Team Collaboration: Develop essential teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Learn Cutting-Edge Skills: Dive into data analysis, programming, and critical thinking—skills that are vital in today’s world.
- Gain Recognition: Compete for awards and showcase your findings to influential leaders and experts.
Timeline & Registration:
- Registration Opens: February 19, 2025
- Challenge Kickoff Event: February 19, 2025
- Submission Deadline: April 5, 2025
- Award Ceremony: Apr 26, 2025 [Imagine RIT on Campus]
- Office Hours: March 3rd & March 20th, 2025, on Zoom (Subject to change)
Eligibility: Open to high school students in the Greater Rochester area. Teams must consist of 3 to 5 students. All experience levels are welcome!
Deliverables
[Final report] All teams are expected to submit a research paper style final report with all the names of all the authors, the faculty mentor and the affiliations of those involved. All the plots and graphs and tables must be properly formatted, captioned, labelled and numbered. Pieces of computer code deemed necessary must be put in the appendix and all the references must appear at the end of the document. All documents must be in pdf format and must be at most 10 pages long.
[Slides] All teams are also expected to submit a high quality set of slides summarizing the research and the findings and to be converted to pdf prior to being submitted
[Video] Teams must also submit a video summary of at most 5 minutes in duration, capturing the essence of your contributions and findings. A team may choose a spokesperson for the team or have a subset of the team do the presentation.
Join the mission for a healthier planet and a brighter future. #RochesterDataScienceChallenge #YouthForChange #SaveOurPlanet
Rochester Schools
- Brighton High School
- Churchville-Chili Senior High School
- East Irondequoit Eastridge Senior High School
- East Irondequoit Irondequoit High School
- East Rochester High School
- Fairport Senior High School
- Gates-Chili High School
- Greece Athena High School
- Greece Arcadia High School
- Hilton High School
- Honeoye Falls-Lima Senior High School
- Penfield Senior High School
- Pittsford-Mendon High School
- Pittsford Sutherland High School
- Rush-Henrietta Senior High School
- Spencerport High School
- Victor Senior High School
- Webster Schroeder High School
- Webster Thomas High School
- West Irondequoit High School
- Allendale Columbia School
- The Harley School
- McQuaid Jesuit High School
- Nazareth Academy
- Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women
- Rochester Catholic Schools
- Seton Catholic School
- Academy of Health Sciences Charter School
- Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School
- Rochester Academy Charter School
- Rochester Academy of Science Charter School
- Rochester Prep Charter School
- University Prep Charter School for Young Men
- Vertus Charter School
- Young Women's College Prep Charter School
- Rochester School for the Deaf
- Mary Cariola Children's Center
- Hillside Children's Center
- Monroe #1 BOCES
- Monroe #2 BOCES