ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
DIRECT FROM U.S. EPA OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Stimulating Innovation Through the Challenges and Prizes Program From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Heather Drumm Wyn Zenni
Wildland Fire Sensors Challenge Wildland fires are a major source of air pollu- tion that can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat; cause diculty breathing; and worsen lung and heart disease. As the intensity and fre- quency of wildland fires continues to increase across the U.S., the need for improved air and smoke monitoring capabilities is critical, espe- cially since most regulatory-grade smoke sen- sors are stationary and complicated to operate. In 2017, U.S. EPA partnered with five federal agencies to launch the Wildland Fire Sen- sors Challenge, which encouraged solvers to develop innovative, low-cost air sensors that were easy to deploy, usable for high concen- tration events, durable in dicult field condi- tions, and able to report data continuously and wirelessly to communities impacted by wild- fire smoke (U.S. EPA, 2023b). The winners of the challenge demon- strated incredible ingenuity using emerging technologies such as miniaturized direct- reading sensors, compact microprocessors, and wireless data communications to develop continuous, real-time smoke sensors that are accurate and portable. Overall, the Wildland Fire Sensors Challenge increased awareness of the importance of monitoring air quality during wildfires and served as a catalyst for advancing the next generation of sensor tech- nology systems for wildland fire applications to protect public health. Even better, the win- ning sensors—Sensit and Thingy AQ (Figure 1)—are now commercially available and in use for wildland fire responses (Sensit Tech- nologies, 2021; Thingy LLC, 2023). Let’s Talk About Heat Challenge Extreme heat is an increasing problem for all parts of the U.S.. Increasing temperatures
Editor’s Note: The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, NEHA has partnered with the Oce of Research and Development (ORD) within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to publish two columns a year in the Journal . ORD is the scientific research arm of U.S. EPA. ORD conducts the research for U.S. EPA that provides the foundation for credible decision making to safeguard human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants. In these columns, authors from ORD will share insights and information about the research being conducted on pressing environmental health issues. The conclusions in these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the ocial position of U.S. EPA. Heather Drumm is the Innovation Team lead within ORD at U.S. EPA. Wyn Zenni is a National Student Services contractor on the Innovation Team within ORD at U.S. EPA.
I ntroduction The power of open competition inspires innovative, transformative ideas that can help solve environmental issues and address community concerns. Challenge and prize competitions have rapidly gained support across federal agencies as a way to promote innovation and accelerate problem-solving, while delivering cost-eective, ecient solu- tions. By harnessing the ingenuity and creativ- ity of the public, these incentive competitions can address pressing problems, stimulate inno- vative thinking, and encouraging community engagement in government activities. Chal- lenge and prize competitions that are open to diverse audiences have a long history of use in both the public and private sectors. The infor- mation, solutions, or practices resulting from challenge and prize competitions have the
potential to be leveraged by other organiza- tions or communities facing similar environ- mental or public health issues. Since 2012, the Challenges and Prizes Pro- gram of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA, 2023a) has hosted over 40 competitions that have used cash prizes and other incentives to reward problem-solvers. Over that time, U.S. EPA has awarded over $1 million to prize winners and has collaborated with communities, federal agencies, and non- profits to advance our core mission of pro- tecting human health and the environment. The following U.S. EPA challenges are just three examples of how challenge and prize competitions can provide a unique opportu- nity to tackle long-standing environmental and public health issues using the power of the crowd.
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Volume 85 • Number 9
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