celebrating student innovation & solutions

Horizons Celebration & Awards Ceremony

September 11, 2025 • 2:30 pm

Amazon HQ2, Arlington, VA

Six people standing on a stage hold a large check for $1,500 awarded to Team Mosaic Garden for winning the 2023 Living Canopy Competition, with a digital backdrop showing '2024 Xplore Summit' and a futuristic building design.
Audience of diverse individuals sitting indoors in dim purple lighting, attentively watching an event or speaker, with some holding drinks and a phone.
A woman in a white top and red pants interacts on stage with a yellow Boston Dynamics robotic dog holding a paper in its robotic arm, against a backdrop with red and black swirling patterns and partial text reading 'Competition.'
Three people conversing around a tall round table in a modern conference lobby with other attendees in the background, featuring a carpeted floor and distinctive ceiling lights.
Six people standing on a stage hold a large check for $1,500 awarded to Team Mosaic Garden for winning the 2023 Living Canopy Competition, with a digital backdrop showing '2024 Xplore Summit' and a futuristic building design.
Audience of diverse individuals sitting indoors in dim purple lighting, attentively watching an event or speaker, with some holding drinks and a phone.
A woman in a white top and red pants interacts on stage with a yellow Boston Dynamics robotic dog holding a paper in its robotic arm, against a backdrop with red and black swirling patterns and partial text reading 'Competition.'
Three people conversing around a tall round table in a modern conference lobby with other attendees in the background, featuring a carpeted floor and distinctive ceiling lights.
Six people standing on a stage hold a large check for $1,500 awarded to Team Mosaic Garden for winning the 2023 Living Canopy Competition, with a digital backdrop showing '2024 Xplore Summit' and a futuristic building design.
Audience of diverse individuals sitting indoors in dim purple lighting, attentively watching an event or speaker, with some holding drinks and a phone.
A woman in a white top and red pants interacts on stage with a yellow Boston Dynamics robotic dog holding a paper in its robotic arm, against a backdrop with red and black swirling patterns and partial text reading 'Competition.'
Three people conversing around a tall round table in a modern conference lobby with other attendees in the background, featuring a carpeted floor and distinctive ceiling lights.

The Horizons Celebration will showcase highlights from the summit and announce the winning student teams of the Horizons Challenge and xFoundry School Safety Xperience Competition.

This is the culminating event of NEXPLORE 2040, a three-day summit in collaboration with NASA.

Join xFoundry for inspiring talks, announcements, high-caliber networking, and an award ceremony celebrating university student innovation, all inside the brand new Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, VA. A reception with hors d'oeuvres and a bar immediately follows.

University leaders, industry experts, students, and our NASA partners will come together as we set our sights on the future of universities as a solution engine for solving grand challenges.

Program


2:30-3:15 PM Refreshments & Innovation Showcase
3:15-4:45 PM Remarks & Awards Ceremony
4:45-6:00 PM Reception with hors d'oeuvres & signature drinks
‍

Speakers

Portrait of a middle-aged Black man wearing glasses, a dark suit, white shirt, and blue striped tie, standing in front of a blurred American flag.
Clayton Turner, Ph.D.
Nasa
Portrait of a smiling Black woman with curly hair styled up, wearing a dark blazer and a large pendant necklace, standing in front of an American flag.
Christyl Johnson, Ph.D.
Nasa
Smiling man with glasses and short curly hair wearing a navy suit jacket, white shirt, and red tie, outdoors with blurred greenery and blue sky.
Darryl Pines, Ph.D.
university of maryland
Confident woman with short curly black hair wearing a gray blazer and white top, smiling.
Kimberly Griffin, Ph.D.
university of maryland
Middle-aged man with short salt-and-pepper hair and a goatee, wearing a black turtleneck, smiling gently.
Amir Ansari
xFoundry
Smiling older man with glasses, white beard, and mustache wearing a dark pinstripe suit, white shirt, and blue patterned tie, standing in front of a modern glass building.
Emilio Fernandez '69
E. A. Fernandez IDEA Factory
Shawn Springs
The agena group

Horizons Challenge Award Ceremony

The Horizons Challenge invited students from colleges and universities to identify critical focus areas that will solve global challenges for Earth today, and space tomorrow. Teams from 15+ institutions submitted pitches for problem statements in one of four focus areas, pulled from NASA's 187 technical shortfalls.

Our finalist teams will pitch at NEXPLORE 2040 and summit attendees will cast their votes to set the target for the upcoming Xperience Competition. The winning pitch will be announced at the Horizons Celebration and the student team will take home a $2,040 cash prize and a $10,000 stipend for the 2027 Xperience Competition*.

*The team's university must be an xFoundry Alliance Member to receive the funding.

Award presented by

Portrait of a middle-aged Black man wearing glasses, a dark suit, white shirt, and blue striped tie, standing in front of a blurred American flag.
Clayton Turner, Ph.D.
NASA

Finalist Team XXXXXX

University of Maryland
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

Finalist Team XXXXXX

Full sail university
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

Finalist Team XXXXXX

University of Maryland
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

Finalist Team XXXXXX

suny binghamton
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
An older man in a dark suit, light blue patterned tie, and glasses stands in front of a red background with blurred white shapes, holding a presentation remote and wearing a lapel microphone.
A man in a suit and tie stands on a stage speaking at the 2024 Xplore Summit hosted by Foundry @ UMD. The background screen shows the event title, 'A Grand Idea: From thought experiment to reality,' and credits Emilio Fernandez ’69 as a founding donor from the University of Maryland.
Woman in a bright pink blazer speaking on stage with a microphone attached to her jacket, gesturing with her hands, with illuminated words 'xFoundry Experience' visible behind her on a patterned wall.
Four smiling people posing together at an indoor event with purple and red lighting and chandeliers, wearing name badges and event lanyards.
A group of seven formally dressed young adults standing in a row indoors, with a black curtain backdrop and an illuminated EXIT sign above a door to the left.
A woman in a white top and red pants interacts on stage with a yellow Boston Dynamics robotic dog holding a paper in its robotic arm, against a backdrop with red and black swirling patterns and partial text reading 'Competition.'
Audience seated indoors in rows, attentively watching a presentation or event under purple lighting, with a man in a suit holding a smartphone in the center.
Three people conversing around a tall round table in a modern conference lobby with other attendees in the background, featuring a carpeted floor and distinctive ceiling lights.

School Safety Xperience Competition

The inaugural Xperience Competition, launched at the University of Maryland, College Park, challenged student teams to develop an affordable and automated solution for rapid detection and notification of school shooting events for K-12 schools and colleges.

After 18 months of solution development, now in an MVP stage, a grand prize winner will be announced and awarded $250k investment in their solution, launching their venture directly to market. Upon graduation, the student team joins the venture's product team, with a salary and equity stake.

watch the sales pitch milestone recap

Hear from some of the students and judges about their progress at the Sales Pitch Milestone.

Award presented by

Confident woman with short curly black hair wearing a gray blazer and white top, smiling.
Kimberly Griffin, Ph.D.
university of maryland

Award recipients

Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

The Horizons Gala will showcase highlights from the summit and introduce the winning team of the Horizons Challenge — a collegiate problem-statement generating challenge that saw participation from students from 14+ universities nationwide.

This is the culminating event of NEXPLORE 2040, a three-day summit in collaboration with NASA. Add a summit package to your registration to join us from September 9-11.

Join xFoundry for an inspiring evening of live music, plated dinner, and high caliber networking and the awards ceremony announcing the winners of the Horizons Challenge [and ssxc], all inside the brand new Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, VA.

Join university partners, leaders, students, industry leaders, and our NASA partners for inspiring speeches and awards ceremonies  celebrating the future of universities as a solution engine for addressing grand challenges.

Speakers

Portrait of a smiling Black woman with curly hair styled up, wearing a dark blazer and a large pendant necklace, standing in front of an American flag.
Christyl Johnson, Ph.D.
Nasa
Middle-aged man with short gray hair and a goatee, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, smiling gently with a blurred background of white lights and windows.
Amir Ansari
xFoundry
Shawn Springs
The agena group
Confident woman with short curly black hair wearing a gray blazer and white top, smiling.
Kimberly Griffin, Ph.D.
university of maryland

RSVP for the Horizons Gala

This is the culminating event of NEXPLORE 2040, a three-day summit in collaboration with NASA. Add a summit package to your registration to join us from September 9-11.

rsvp
A person holds a smartphone, using its camera to scan a QR code displayed on a large screen at an event with red and purple lighting, surrounded by seated attendees.

Horizons Challenge Award Ceremony

The Horizons Challenge invited students from colleges and universities to identify critical focus areas that will solve global challenges for Earth today, and space tomorrow. [x] teams from [x] institutions submitted pitches for problem statements in one of four focus areas, pulled from NASA's 187 technical shortfalls.

Our [x] finalist teams are bringing their pitches to NEXPLORE 2040 to be refined and voted up on by our 200+ attendees. The winning pitch will be announced at the Horizons Gala, setting the topic for the upcoming Xperience Competition, and the student team taking home a cash prize.

Award presented by

Astronaut Lady
NASA

Finalist Team XXXXXX

University of Maryland
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

Finalist Team XXXXXX

Full sail university
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

Finalist Team XXXXXX

University of Maryland
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company

Finalist Team XXXXXX

suny binghamton
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
An older man in a dark suit, light blue patterned tie, and glasses stands in front of a red background with blurred white shapes, holding a presentation remote and wearing a lapel microphone.
A man in a suit and tie stands on a stage speaking at the 2024 Xplore Summit hosted by Foundry @ UMD. The background screen shows the event title, 'A Grand Idea: From thought experiment to reality,' and credits Emilio Fernandez ’69 as a founding donor from the University of Maryland.
Woman in a bright pink blazer speaking on stage with a microphone attached to her jacket, gesturing with her hands, with illuminated words 'xFoundry Experience' visible behind her on a patterned wall.
Four smiling people posing together at an indoor event with purple and red lighting and chandeliers, wearing name badges and event lanyards.
A group of seven formally dressed young adults standing in a row indoors, with a black curtain backdrop and an illuminated EXIT sign above a door to the left.
A woman in a white top and red pants interacts on stage with a yellow Boston Dynamics robotic dog holding a paper in its robotic arm, against a backdrop with red and black swirling patterns and partial text reading 'Competition.'
Audience seated indoors in rows, attentively watching a presentation or event under purple lighting, with a man in a suit holding a smartphone in the center.
Three people conversing around a tall round table in a modern conference lobby with other attendees in the background, featuring a carpeted floor and distinctive ceiling lights.

School Safety Xperience Competition

The inaugural Xperience Competition, launched at the University of Maryland, College Park, challenged student teams to develop an affordable and automated solution for rapid detection and notification of school shooting events for K-12 schools and colleges.

After 18 months of solution development, now in an MVP stage, a grand prize winner will be announced and awarded $250k investment in their solution, launching their venture directly to market. Upon gradution, the student team will become salaried employees with equity stake upon graduation.

Award presented by

Confident woman with short curly black hair wearing a gray blazer and white top, smiling.
Kimberly Griffin, Ph.D.
university of maryland

Award recipients

Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
Firstname Lastname
Company
RSVP for the Horizons Gala

Celebrate the conculsion of NEXPLORE 2040 and connect with the next generation of innovators.

Rsvp
Starry night sky with clusters of bright stars and a dense, glowing section of the Milky Way galaxy with blue and white hues.