Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Director Jonathan Male announced the winner and finalists of the 2015 BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge Pilot in a special webinar awards ceremony on June 3, 2015. 

The winning infographic is “Cellulosic Ethanol,” created by a team of five students from Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design in Brooklyn, New York. The student team received the Director’s Prize for Excellence in Content, Design, and Social Media Promotion and is invited to present the infographic at BETO’s Bioenergy 2015 in Washington, D.C. at the end of June.

BETO also recognized the top ten finalists from the infographic challenge social media campaign. The infographics reached nearly 12,000 unique page views, and 50 of the 76 teams that submitted infographics shared them through various social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. Infographics from all competitions can be viewed on the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge Map.

“I’d like to express my admiration and appreciation for each of you in helping improve our nation’s energy literacy,” Dr. Male said in the awards ceremony. “Nearly 12,000 people had the opportunity to think about the role bioenergy can play in a thriving future bioeconomy that offsets our consumption of fossil fuel resources. That’s incredible. Thank you for bringing the creativity and zeal of your generation to help shape the energy future for generations to come.” 

The winning infographic presents benefits and considerations of cellulosic ethanol, including scientific, social, and economic impacts. BETO leaders said this information can help educate audiences about the potential of biofuels and research challenges that are being addressed to make sure biofuels are “done right.” The winner had an easy-to-follow message, good visualization of data, and strong use of peer-reviewed sources. It received 801 unique page views during the social media campaign.

The runners up were also announced:

• First runner up: “Algae: for a Cleaner and Greener Tomorrow” by a team from Smithtown High School East in St. James, New York— chosen for being visually engaging with an easy-to-follow message 
• Second runner up: “Algae Biofuel” by a team also from Smithtown High School—chosen for visual appeal fitting to the subject area, eye-catching subheadings, and good use of peer-reviewed sources.

The BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge is a competition for high school students to learn about bioenergy, create an infographic to present what they learn, and if they choose, to share their infographic on social media. The competition will occur again in the spring of 2016.

OPERATION BioenergizeME is part of the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s efforts to increase energy literacy as a part of its overall communications efforts.