Ridgewood High School’s Applied Engineering Club Continues Winning Streak at STEAM Tank Challenge

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood High School’s Applied Engineering Club had a banner year in 2025, continuing its tradition of innovation, collaboration, and competition success. Under the leadership of senior president Maggie Zhou and a team of 11 senior leaders, the club grew to an impressive 250 members, forming 30 unique project teams.

🚀 Success at the NJSBA STEAM Tank Challenge

Twelve of these student-led teams competed in the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) STEAM Tank Challenge, going head-to-head with more than 80 other high school teams from across the state.

2024 Highlights:

• Team ViriTec — Sophomores Chris (Cheng Ze) Liang, Kaan Parlak, and Amari Abdalla won third place, bringing home $1,000 in prize money for RHS.

2025 Highlights:

• Shock Sleeve — Juniors Jeremy Cohen, Neal Shrimali, Maanas Chinni, and Ishaan Chakrabarty developed a wearable tech innovation and earned fourth place, receiving a $500 award.

• Vita Flow — A collaboration between juniors Elliott Yi, Ben Soung, Aarav Motivala, and sophomore Matias Levani took second place, securing a $1,500 prize for the school.

🏆 Over $10,000 in Awards and Cutting-Edge Tech

The club’s achievements are not limited to just this year. Over the past five years, Ridgewood High School’s Applied Engineering Club has earned:

• Over $10,000 in STEAM competition awards

• Three 3D printers

• An additional $8,500 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant in 2020, which supported hands-on invention and innovation projects.

This continued success showcases the strength of Ridgewood’s STEM education and the real-world skills students are gaining in engineering, teamwork, and creative problem-solving.

🎓 Preparing the Next Generation of Innovators

Club President Maggie Zhou and the senior leadership team have not only overseen an expansion in membership but also ensured students at all levels were involved in impactful, competition-ready projects. With juniors and sophomores already making headlines, the future of Ridgewood’s engineering excellence looks bright.

Stay tuned for future innovations as this passionate group of students continues to design solutions, compete at the highest levels, and make Ridgewood proud.