Future City Champions: Local Texas High School Wins Competition
November 2024
The Future City Competition, presented by DiscoverE, is an inspiring global event that engages over 60,000 students and 4,500 mentors and educators worldwide. The competition challenges young minds to imagine a city 100 years into the future, exploring innovative ways to improve the quality of life for all its inhabitants. Each year, the competition centers around a different theme, requiring participants to think critically and creatively.
Students are tasked with writing a research essay, developing a project plan to construct a model of their envisioned city, and preparing for in-depth Q&A sessions with judges from both academia and industry. They then present their ideas through an engaging skit. The competition begins at the regional level, with the top teams advancing to the finals in Washington, D.C., where 40-50 teams vie for global recognition.
Our team, established by Arnav Srinivasa, Aditya Gullapalli, and Arya Gullapalli, mentored/coached by Taryna Patel, and educator support by Ms. Carol Reese, has participated in the Future City Competition since 2020. The table below highlights our achievements throughout our years of involvement:
| Year | Team Name | Theme | Awards |
| 2020-21 | Luna Station Vulcan | Life on the Moon | Land Surveying Award; Regional Winner (1st Place); Global (6th Place) |
| 2021-22 | Concordia | Circular Economy | People’s Choice Award; |
| 2022-23 | Libratum | Climate Change | Regional Winner (1st Place); Global (5th Place); Systems Integration Award |
| 2023-24 | Ampere | Electrification | Global Winner (1st Place); $10,000 scholarship per student |
In April 2023, IISE Magazine Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) recognized our outstanding accomplishment in a national publication, awarding us the Excellence in Systems Integration Award for our “superior knowledge of system design.” In the same year, Arnav and Arya delivered an inspiring TED Talk on climate change, showcasing their expertise and passion for global sustainability. The relentless pursuit of excellence, primarily driven by the strategic leadership and engineering innovation of Arnav alongside the technical brilliance and transformative creativity of Aditya and Arya, has been the cornerstone of our success.
In 2023, DiscoverE introduced a significant change by expanding the competition to include high school students. We welcomed Miranda Xu to our team at Westlake High School and eagerly embraced the new challenge. The challenge transitioned from building physical models from recycled materials to constructing virtual models using AR/VR technology—a shift that presented us with a unique learning opportunity. We explored a variety of AR/VR tools to determine the most suitable for creating our envisioned city. After careful consideration of our technical skills and the project’s timeline, we chose Cities VR. Our team even took the next step to connect with the developers of the software to customize certain elements to bring our futuristic city to life with greater precision and creativity.
Through our participation in the Future City Competition, we have gained valuable insights into the latest advancements in science and engineering. The competition pushes us to move beyond incremental improvements and envision transformative solutions for the future. It encourages us to think exponentially and exercise our imaginations.
We believe that as more students engage in forward-thinking projects like Future City, the potential for innovative solutions to today’s global challenges will grow. This competition has fueled our passion for designing a future marked by abundance, equity, and sustainability, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead. We look forward to pursuing careers that allow us to contribute to a world where everyone can thrive.
