Valley Christian Schools (VCS) in San Jose, CA have achieved another milestone in innovation as Team Wildfire Quest advances to the Technical Verification round of the $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition.
As the only high school team to progress to the top 30, the team earned a $25,000 award while competing against university and professional teams.
These ambitious students are developing autonomous systems designed to detect and extinguish wildfires within 10 minutes.
This latest achievement adds to Valley Christian Schools’ impressive record of student innovation through global XPRIZE competitions.
Supported by the school’s Applied Math, Science and Engineering (AMSE) Institute, VCS teams have consistently competed, earning international recognition for their achievements.
VCS Senior Omkar Tasgaonkar, Wildfire Quest Project Lead said: “The numerous industry connection opportunities have been invaluable to our team’s growth and understanding of existing solutions to fight wildfires, allowing us to pinpoint problems in firefighting (such as early response and active monitoring).
“I look forward to the future growth and success of this team in making our solution a reality, deploying it in areas with high risk of fire and stopping fires at the earliest stage.”
The school’s journey in XPRIZE competitions began in 2017 when Ocean Quest, a team of VCS junior high and high school students became the youngest finalists in the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE.
Their technology for detecting and tracking chemical signals in the ocean earned first place in the NOAA Bonus Prize Round, securing $800,000. This journey was documented in the award-winning films Ocean Quest (2018) and Team Ocean Quest: The Impossible Journey (2024).
Building on this foundation, VCS teams have continued their success with subsequent competitions:
Valley Christian’s recently formed Water Quest team will tackle the XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition. With $119 million in funding and a five-year global scope, the challenge aims to revolutionize access to clean water. The team’s objective is to develop a sustainable, cost-effective seawater desalination system.
Another milestone has been met by Valley Christian School students in California, giving the team the chance to win the $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition.
