Two McNeil High School students have been named national finalists in the 16th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition for their project, Tudo, focused on AI-powered fall-risk detection.
Asvini T., one of the project’s leads, said she was excited to speak about something the team was passionate about.
"Being on that stage at The Washington Post, having people across the nation want to hear about our passion project and our attempt to help the community was a noteworthy experience that we will forever cherish,” she said. “It was not just about placing nationally, but about realizing how strongly our community supports our mission and how many people connect to the serious issue of fall risk.”
The team’s project focuses on fall-risk screening, using data from university and health care research to train an AI-powered model and design an app to support people at high risk of falls.
The application aims to simplify and reduce the cost of screening for people at high risk of falling. As the app develops, the students’ goal is to connect users with health care professionals and provide recommended next steps.
Teammate Hansika P. said her personal experience gave her the drive to pursue this idea.
"Building this project was deeply personal to me because it was inspired by my grandfather’s fall,” Hansika said. “My desire was to make fall-risk screening more accessible for others, and I remember just a year ago writing down that I wanted to take this project to a larger scale, make a real impact, and someday travel nationally to share it. Seeing this goal become a reality felt surreal.”
At the 2026 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Finalist Event, students presented their STEM projects and prototypes addressing local and global issues.
“I truly poured my heart and soul into this project, and seeing the project genuinely connect with others and create real impact was indescribable,” Hansika said. “It honestly felt like one of those rare life moments where everything works out in the end, and I couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful for all of it."
This achievement has not only allowed students the opportunity to deliver a live pitch of their project in Washington, D.C., but also won the school $50,000 in Samsung technology and classroom supplies.
The team’s mentor and McNeil educator, Carrie Copeland, said she was grateful the students were able to have such a great experience through this competition.
"This was an amazing opportunity for our students to work with industry professionals to take a project from a thought to a prototype,” Copeland said. “The students did an amazing job planning and preparing their project. They created many iterations of the software to arrive at an accurate model and developed skills to present their product effectively. We are thankful for the training and resources that Samsung provided to improve our experience. These young ladies are an excellent representation of STEM education in Round Rock ISD."
Congratulations to these students, their coach, Carrie Copeland, and McNeil Science Teacher Katherine Smith for nurturing and exploring this innovative solution to a global problem!