Nitro High School

The 2024-2025 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 at MIT during EurekaFest, June 9-11, 2025. Team progress can be followed through Inside InvenTeams, a monthly newsletter.

Problem Statement:

The Nitro High School Lemelson MIT InvenTeam is focused on solving the problem of powerline lineman safety—a truly dangerous job especially in the rough, mountainous terrain of West Virginia. Linemen rely heavily on their harnesses, whether in a bucket, or climbing poles. Dangers exist prior to the reaching the repair work. The mere task of making it onto the pole is quite challenging. Along with this, pole climbers must be hyper aware of their surroundings and currents all while performing tedious tasks. Often, falls and equipment failure are due to human error. Our team seeks to invent a technological solution to assist linemen with the plethora of necessary actions that keep them safe on the job.