The PHS Research Team, who were announced NJ State Winners in January, have advanced to the next stage of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition. They now represent New Jersey as one of the ten national finalists, competing for the chance to win $100,000 worth of Samsung products for PHS.
“I mean, [qualifying for nationals] is a really good feeling. We worked really hard. And I think if you track our growth since September, it’s been amazing,” said Hayah Mian ’25, the lead psychologist of the team.
Between winning states and qualifying for nationals, the team has expanded the capabilities of their first prototype, a stuffed armadillo called Che’w that can teach the endangered Guatemalan language of Mam. At nationals, the team will be presenting at Samsung’s headquarters in Washington D.C. on April 29. 
“Our focus back then was just trying to make a prototype work, and I feel like now it’s trying to get the presentation [for nationals] together by working on the script and the video,” said Sofia Son ’25, one of the programmers on the team. “We [also] want to improve on the current prototype we’re going to present with.”
One of these improvements is the development of movement through motors. With the motors, the robot will be able to hug and wave, allowing for more animal-like movements and a more friendly appearance so that a user does not feel stressed or anxious when interacting with the robot. On the programming side, the team has focused on gathering enough language data so that the robot can maintain complex communications with users and vary its answers with AI and machine learning.
“At the moment, the robot is not intelligent. It doesn’t use machine learning or AI because we don’t have enough data,” said Debdeep Sen ’26, another programmer on the team. “Eventually we’ll have neural networks for the language once we have enough data, so it’ll actually understand what you’re saying.”
 In order to get this data, the team has partnered with indigenous Mam-speaking communities in Cajola, Guatemala; Oakland, California; and Morristown, New Jersey, as well as university professors from the University of Kansas and Princeton University.
As the team works on improving the functionality of the robots, they are also increasing the sustainability of their designs, which is one of the main goals of the project. Previously, they had created a stuffed armadillo, Chico, which was scrapped due to issues surrounding the ethics of the manufacturing process and sustainability of their material sourcing. Now, they are collaborating with Fluffmonger, a company that designs environmentally friendly plushies, which are then assembled in local Mam-speaking communities, including in Guatemala.
“We wanted to move towards a locally and more ethically soproduced solution ... and [Fluffmonger] just [sends] us these blueprints for making stuffed animals, and then we stitch [them together],” Son said.
The team uses cloth made from recycled materials and clothes that are hand-sewn by local communities. Post-competition, the team hopes to transform their project into an ethical and sustainable business.
“The plan is for [the project] to become a business model after the competition. Our goal is to teach younger research students and middle schoolers how to build the robots because we want to be able to teach our students digital literacy along with the different languages ... A lot of us in the project are juniors, so [after] next year we leave. We want to keep [the project] going at PHS,” Mian said. 

PHS research team moves on to nationals

In a Board of Education meeting on March 15, the board announced its decision to extend Dr. Kathleen Foster’s employment as interim superintendent to June 30, 2025. 
However, because Foster is retired, she can only be employed by PPS, Princeton Public Schools, for a limited period of time as per New Jersey state law. Therefore, before the decision can be implemented, the district must receive permission from the New Jersey Department of Education in order to allow Foster’s extension of contract.
Regardless, despite Foster’s relatively recent appointment as interim superintendent since November of last year, she has seemingly brought her past experience as both a teacher and administrator in order to fulfill her role as superintendent. 
“[Foster] has really spent many years [in the educational field]. She led [the Robbinsville school] district with a lot of healing power when they went through traumatic events,” said Princeton High School principal Ceclia Birge. “Now post-pandemic, our district and the whole world has experienced so much trauma, and I really don’t think we could’ve found a better leader than she is.”  		In addition, Foster’s approaches and viewpoints as an educator also help her work with the Board of Education when making decisions.
“Foster has the student first approach ... [Foster and the Board] are all aligned and that’s what’s important,” said Dafna Kendal, President of the Board of Education. “She’s decisive when making decisions but she always considers all viewpoints ... I think that’s an excellent quality for a leader to have.”
Even when basing her decisions on the benefits of the students and the district in general, Dr. Foster keeps everyone who constitutes the greater Princeton community in mind. 
“I think a strength of any leader is the ability to listen and learn ... I learned beside many other people. And certainly, I also really want to make sure that we engage the full community of stakeholders ... listening to staff members, listening to administrators, listening to community members, and most importantly, listening to students,” Foster said. 
However, even with  Foster’s experience, she still faces challenges with her job.
“One of the most difficult pieces is looking at making sure that we keep on track with our strategic planning goals and the long term planning ... There are things that get in the way ... and we have to make sure that whatever decision we’re making [is] for the best interest of our students,” Foster said. 
Despite the challenges, Foster loves what she does and is excited to continue her work until the end of next year.
“I’m thrilled to be [a superintendent]. I love this community,” said Foster. “I love the internal community [of] administrators, the Board of Education, staff, and parents who all care so much about our students. And so I’m really excited ... to be [to be employed for] the next year.”

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