Josie Choi ’26, Mei Macintyre ’26, Caroline Pereira ’27, and Chase Tucker ’27 represented Rye Country Day School at the global Biodesign Sprint: Ocean Futures competition and earned Runner-up, placing among top university teams from around the world. Competing against institutions such as the University of Johannesburg, University of Florence, University of South Florida, UC San Diego, NYU, and many others, the RCDS team delivered a sophisticated, research-driven proposal that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with collegiate and graduate-level work.

The Oxyfloat project began in students’ AP Biology with Environmental Data Analysis course and experiences in Marine Ecology, where they investigated the growing hypoxia crisis in the Long Island Sound and were challenged to use biomimicry to design potential solutions. Drawing inspiration from the structure and movement of jellyfish, whose dome-like shape and fluid dynamics efficiently move water through their bodies, the students explored how similar principles could help circulate and oxygenate stratified coastal waters. This early design thinking became the foundation for the team’s Sprint submission. 

The RCDS team answered this call with Oxyfloat, an elegant system that integrates solar-powered mixing, biomaterials, and photosynthetic microalgae to combat coastal hypoxia—a global problem and a local crisis in the Long Island Sound. As highlighted in their presentation, hypoxia arises from nutrient runoff, warming waters, and decomposition, leading to fish kills, and biodiversity loss. Drawing from biological, environmental, and engineering principles, the team developed a multi-stage prototype designed to attach to existing monitoring buoys and deliver oxygenated water to deeper layers of the Sound.

RCDS earned Runner-up in a field dominated by university and graduate programs from more than 20 international institutions. 

Congratulations Josie, Mei, Caroline, and Chase on this accomplishment!