RANCHO CORDOVA — A team of young engineers at Cordova High School is earning national recognition after being selected for one of the country’s most prestigious high school invention grants. The school’s Engineering Academy has been named a 2025–26 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam, joining just seven other schools across the United States chosen for the honor.
The program, created by the Lemelson Foundation in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, awards grants to student engineering teams developing real-world, community-focused inventions. Cordova High earned a $7,500 grant to build its Smart Storm system, a student-designed technology aimed at reducing flooding, preventing clogged storm drains, and cutting down on polluted runoff that enters local waterways during heavy storms.
For the students involved, the idea grew out of a challenge they witness regularly in Rancho Cordova. When seasonal rains hit, storm drains fill quickly with trash, leaves, and debris, sending polluted water into gutters and streams. Their Smart Storm concept, equipped with monitoring features and alert technology, would notify city crews in real time when a drain is at risk of clogging, allowing workers to respond before flooding begins.
Engineering teacher Faith Caplan, who led the grant submission and is guiding students through the invention process, said the team’s enthusiasm and work ethic have stood out since the start.
“This year’s team is the perfect blend of intelligent, hardworking, and empathetic students applying knowledge from our Engineering Academy to a real problem in Rancho Cordova,” Caplan said. “I am excited for our next steps as we develop our technological solution.”
The initiative also aligns with California’s environmental requirement that all trash larger than 5 millimeters be kept out of state waterways by 2030. While many cities have adopted filtration baskets and other trash-capture devices, the Smart Storm design seeks to help crews respond earlier and prevent blockages from forming rather than discovering them after stormwater is already backed up.
Last week, students met with engineering mentors and City of Rancho Cordova partners to map out their project plan and timeline. Over the next several months, they will research materials, test early design models, and refine their prototype with the goal of unveiling the Smart Storm system in February. After that, the team plans to host a community showcase event to demonstrate its invention and gather feedback before heading to EurekaFest, MIT’s annual celebration of student inventors, in June.
For Cordova High’s Engineering Academy, becoming an InvenTeam marks a major milestone and highlights the program’s growing reputation for hands-on, problem-driven innovation. For students, it is an opportunity to apply classroom learning to an issue affecting their own neighborhoods, while gaining real engineering experience that could shape future careers in environmental technology, public infrastructure, or design engineering.
The team will continue to collaborate with mentors and city partners as they refine their prototype, and their progress will be shared with the Rancho Cordova community in the months ahead. As the project moves forward, the students say they are motivated not just by the challenge of invention, but by the potential for their work to make a measurable difference in local stormwater management.
Copyright © 2025, Folsom Times, a digital product of All Town Media LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Cordova High, Smart Storm, Engineering Academy, Rancho Cordova, Lemelson-MIT, InvenTeam, invention, students, prototype, waterways
