The students have gained not only the attention of the Vermillion city and school leaders, but also state and national officials.

The Vermillion students are state winners in the Samsung Solver for Tomorrow Contest, which provides more than $2 million in technology for schools. Students are challenged to show how science, technology, engineering and mathematics will improve their local community.

Gault admits she’s not totally surprised by her students’ success.

“Honestly, I didn’t doubt it at all. I hoped for this, and tried to arrange every opportunity to have them be in that position, and while I’m pleased, I’m not surprised,” she said. “These students are capable of things we can’t even imagine.”

As South Dakota’s state winner, Gault and two VMS students, Sagarika Ghosh and Ethan Simmons, traveled to Austin, TX, to present their project at the SXSWedu Educational Conference.

National awards will be presented to the top five teams during this conference. The top five teams receive an additional $140,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. for an awards ceremony. The results were not available at press time.

A serious problem

The students decided to focus on the Asian carp, also known as the Silver carp or the Bighead carp.

Without action, the Asian carp — an invasive species — could drastically change the Missouri River in the Yankton and Vermillion areas. This fast-growing “super species” has been discovered on a stretch of river near Vermillion.

The students have researched and collected testimony on the Asian carp’s threat to the Missouri River. The students also proposed viable solutions to the problem.

So far conservation groups and officials have kept the Asian carp below Gavins Point Dam. But even the presence of one carp above the dam near Yankton would change the upstream river forever.

“Virtually every part of the state is somehow touched by the Missouri River. Right now, we’re fortunate because the Gavins Point Dam is currently preventing their (Asian carp) migration,” Gault said. “The inevitable future is that the safety net (of the Gavins Point Dam) will not last long unless we start to do something about it.”

As national finalists, the VMS students concentrated on building public awareness. They produced a 3-minute video describing the Asian carp’s threat to the Missouri River and action needed to reduce those risks.

The young people have reached out to Vermillion city and school officials, seeking action.

This experience has changed her students, Gault said. Their focus has shifted away from the Samsung contest and to the Asian carp problem itself.

“Initially, what we knew about Asian carp was featured on funny videos on the Internet,” she said. “That changed for us very quickly as we were exposed to the data – that data that we accumulated and that data that we studied changed our opinion from this being just an entertaining issue to one that’s very concerning.

“It became something more than a contest. It became something more than a funny video. It actually is meaningful to them,” Gault said.

Strategies

Gault said her students have developed a plan of attack for dealing with the Asian carp’s threat. They found no easy solutions — like a hand-held device or a specialized fishing pole — but instead realized the real weapon is raising public awareness about the grave situation.

“They have looked at solutions that have been occurring in other states. In Illinois, for example, they have developed a fishing industry,” Gault said. “The students have written letters to government officials requesting that South Dakota start to look at developing a fishing industry, or perhaps finance a fishing industry to come here to begin to control our population before it gets out of control.”

They also learned about an $18 million blockade to separate Lake Michigan from the other Great Lakes. However, they suggested that South Dakotans focus on scientific approaches. For example, a “bio-bullet” is in development.

“Scientists, for example, are looking for a particular enzyme that only exists in Asian carp, so that if you feed them a particular type of poison that would be put in the water, it would only kill the Asian carp and it would leave all of our native species alive,” Gault said.

Her students support pheromone research, to lure Asian carp to locations where they can be fished, or where they can be poisoned.

Not surprised

Gault said she’s known all along her students were capable of tackling the daunting task of fighting the Asian carp epidemic.

“They’re smart, you just have to give them the opportunities to show all of us what they can do,” Gault said. “It’s something amazing to be a part of this as a teacher.”

Gault said she hopes her students realize how much they’ve accomplished already.

“I’ve tried to get this message to them as clear as I can: It doesn’t matter if we win this contest or not. What you have done is much more than most people do,” she said. “You have become passionate about a subject. You have educated yourself about a subject, and you have taken it that one, next step, where you’ve shared your education and your passion with your community in order to make a difference.”

The other wonderful thing about this entire experience, Gault said, is the community reaction.

Gault has delivered the Asian carp research to several leaders who will take the effort to the next level.

However, the VMS students have no intention of stopping their projects.

“We’re planning to offer a dual-credit class next year at USD (University of South Dakota) and at Vermillion High School where students will actually be able to do research on Asian carp,” she said.

Gault’s students are also working with the National Park Service to host a summer institute on invasive species.

“I think that may be the most important feedback for them.

When you go through all of these steps, and when you do all of that hard work, people will notice,” she said. “People will become invested, and then you need to work together as a community.”

To view the Vermillion Middle School’s video, log on to www.samsung.com/solve.