DEPSA Student Scientist selected to attend the 2016 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute

Omari Garrett, a senior at Detroit Edison Public School Academy (DEPSA) was selected from a group of 60 Michigan high school seniors to participate in the 2016 World Food Prize Summit during the Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium in Des Moines, IA in October 2016. The World Food Prize was founded in 1986 by 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug to encourage the scientific community to develop ways to increase food availability throughout the world.

To win this prestigious opportunity, Omari presented at the World Prize Regional Conference, held at Michigan State University in May 2016. For his qualifying presentation, Omari used super absorbent polymers to develop a working model of how India could manage soil moisture and increase food crop yields.

Omari is enrolled in the DEPSA Early College of Excellence and wants to use science and technology to improve world food shortage conditions. He supplements his passion to help others as a student research scientist in the Ecotek Lab Program in Detroit, a science research organization that includes future scientists from major urban centers and supports research and innovation for youth grades 5- 12.