The Genius (Global Environmental Issues and Us) Olympiad is an international high school competition that has been sponsored since 2011 by Rochester Institute of Technology and Terra Science and Education.
Genius participants look to solve global environmental issues and achieve sustainability through diverse competition categories ranging from traditional science fair related research to the mediums of art, short film, music, creative writing, and business.
The 2021 event featured 1,245 finalists from 2,481 entry submissions. Projects came from 42 of the states in the US and from 85 countries.
The science category had a total of 679 projects. Finalists typically compete and interact in person with judging sessions at a multi-day event on the RIT campus.
This year’s virtual competition required students to submit a 12 minute video presentation of their research and results.
Two local students were selected as science finalists- Ian Hoffman, a junior from Hilltop High School, with his project “Agriculturists Perceptions of Mental Health and Resource Availability” and Carsyn Hagans, a junior from Archbold High School, with her project “The Effect of Light Pollution on Diel Vertical Migration in Daphnia magna”. Hagans earned a Gold Medal rating, signifying a top 10% placement.