Harvest Prep Academy InvenTeam
Problem Statement:
Yuma, Arizona, is known as the Winter Lettuce Capital of the World, and it faces recurring outbreaks of E. coli contamination that threaten both consumer health and the local agricultural economy. Studies suggest that up to 32% of lettuce can be contaminated through soil or irrigation water, posing significant risks of foodborne illness. These illness outbreaks have raised public concern and damaged trust in the safety of locally grown produce in our hometown of Yuma. To address this urgent issue, the Harvest Preparatory Academy InvenTeam seeks to develop innovative, chemical-free UVC-based technologies that disinfect irrigation water and sanitize lettuce post-harvest, ensuring safer food production and preserving Yuma’s reputation as a leader in agricultural innovation.
About the 2025-2026 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams:
The 2025-2026 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams were selected by a panel of esteemed judges after several months of researching problems within their community that could be addressed with a technological solution. Teams will continue to learn more about the problems they selected in the first half of the grant year. Technological solutions will be prototyped, tested, and modified in the second half of the grant year. The technological solutions—inventions—will be showcased during EurekaFest in 2026. Team progress can be followed through Inside InvenTeams, a monthly newsletter.
