Student Team Among H20 Impact Challenge Winners
By Emmi van Zoest
A team of Cal State San Marcos students was recently honored in multiple categories at the SDSU Chinyeh Hostler Social Venture: H20 Impact Challenge.
The event, hosted by San Diego State, is a pitch competition based on identifying a significant problem related to the impact of water on the region. Competitors then present an innovative solution to the problem.
CSUSM’s winning team included biotechnology master’s student Kanav Aggarwal and undergraduates Ashley Gamez (marketing) and Bella Bowman (digital art).
Aggarwal is the inventor of ChloroBoost and presented the pitch during the competition. The team won $2,000 for the most innovative solution of the competition and second place overall.
ChloroBoost focuses on conserving water in agriculture, an industry in which 40% of water usage occurs. ChloroBoost improves water retention in soil. Farmers put biofertilizer in their fields, let it dry and then can grow their crops like usual. Doing this can reduce wastewater by half, ultimately improving soil quality.
The CSUSM team was among nine teams from five Southern California colleges and universities that competed for a total of $40,000 in cash prizes. The team won a total of $9,500 for its presentation.
The team ended its competition presentation by proposing a two-year plan, including testing and studies, that would end with a regional launch in December 2025.
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