In front of a bustling crowd of students, seven finalist teams mentally prepared themselves to present their innovations to a panel of four judges made up of industry leaders in engineering at the annual Student Innovator of the Year (SIOY) Competition on February 27.
Among the competitors was Tyler Lenning (PWS ‘25), a life sciences student majoring in environmental science and sustainability. He is the CEO and team lead of the Varroa Tech team who created a biotechnical solution to remotely detect and monitor parasite levels within beehives.
Bees pollinate approximately $15 billion worth of crops, including more than 125 different kinds of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, each year in the United States alone. They are critical to maintaining food security across the globe.
Bee populations are rapidly declining thanks to parasites like the varroa destructor mite, with nearly 50% of beehives dying every year. The Varroa Tech team designed a device to help mitigate this problem. It tracks and analyzes the gases released by bees to help beekeepers know when to treat infected beehives and when to remove infested beehives from bee colonies to prevent mite spread. “Our device has the potential to save beehives, and, if we could put a device on every hive around the world and beekeepers treated them before it is too late, we can eliminate the majority of hive loss,” says Lenning. “If this could be implemented on every hive, we would have healthier ecosystems, less food scarcity, and a healthier earth.”
Judged on engineering, innovation, and impact, Varroa Tech and the other teams had only minutes to share their novel technologies at the SIOY Competition in hopes of securing funding to help them take their innovations to the next level. Dressed in beekeeping suits, Lenning and one of his teammates presented their innovation with style, captivating the audience.
The Varroa Tech team won first place, receiving $12,000, and also secured the finals crowd favorite award, earning them an additional $2,000 in prize money. “Competing in SIOY was wild! It has been an exhausting path filled with many sleepless nights, bee stings, and learning experiences,” shares Lenning. “We’re amazed at all the support from faculty, peers, and mentors to help bees, and we’re proud of the good our device will do for the bees and our food supply.”
