The Thomas Edison Pitch Contest 2022, a national STEM-based invention contest, continues to flourish in its 12^th year of competition by gathering almost 100 more student teams than last year.

The contest will involve 84 schools across 27 states, with a jump in total students involved from 540 to 817. In fact, the number of students involved has nearly tripled within the last 2 years alone. This will certainly keep our judging panels busy.

Competing teams are free to choose the categories in which they submit their inventions such as community development, animals, education, environment and medical. This year, a large majority of teams have chosen to create inventions in the environment category, with the medical inventions running second.

If statistics hold as they have been, young women will play a big role in this year’s competition as they have outnumbered the boys in the last 2 final rounds. We love to see them encouraged by this competition to take a powerful role in the STEM field, starting from elementary school to high school.

The final event for top honors will occur on May 18th, coordinated by the Edison Innovation Foundation through the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ. Whether it is online or in-person, it is always an “electric evening” as top candidates in each age category enthusiastically present their inventions. The Foundation, along with sponsors – Nexans, PSEG, Gilbane, and Thomas Edison Electric – are especially excited to see how the competition plays out this year with so many applicants! You can read more about our great partners here.

The CEO of Nexans, Christopher Geurin said, “From Edison’s pioneering era to this new electrified world, Nexans has relentlessly been part of the living history of electricity. Nexans is proud to be a part of the Edison legacy and actively participates in the transition to sustainable energy in North America. A new chapter of history is being written as we confront climate change. An industrial shift unprecedented since the one began by Edison is happening. The Edison Innovation Foundation is building the next generation of pioneers to solve tomorrow’s energy challenges.”

We can’t wait to find our next Thomas Edisons!