EATON — More than 40 Eaton High School students participated in the second year of the Believe in Ohio competition, sponsored by The Ohio Academy of Science.

Students dedicated hours of research and planning to the completion of a Commercialization Plan that “describes how a new and/or existing STEM concept, prototype, process, idea, or technology may be applied, or further developed to provide a solution to a marketplace or societal problem, need, or opportunity,” according to the Ohio Roadmap to Future Jobs & Prosperity.

Forty-two students submitted a Commercialization Plan for the competition and the four top-scoring plans were each awarded a $500 grant prize. Eight of the highest-scoring plans will be sent on to regional and state competitions at Believe in Ohio, where more awards will be given, including top prizes of a $20,000 college scholarship and a $10,000 prize.

The Believe in Ohio program is growing, and will be even bigger next year. The Believe in Ohio completion is open to all high school students. Contact advisor, Amy Kochensparger, for more information on how to be involved next year.

Congratulations to the local winners. These winners wrote excellent research papers to solve a current problem and received superior ratings from the local Believe in Ohio judges, according to Kochensparger.

Winners included: Lydia Noh, Jacob Hickman, Grace Miller and Mackenzie Waxler.

Congratulations were also offered to the following students, whose papers scored high enough to also move on in the competition: Braden Moles and Daniel Howard.