A sophomore at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, David De Costa, was honored May 31 as this year’s grand prize winner for the Northern Virginia Community College Design Challenge.
In this year’s competition, middle school, high school and post-secondary students nationwide were tasked with designing a product to improve animal wellbeing.
From his commitment to his Catholic faith and interest in helping the environment, De Costa designed and invented “FoxWatch,” which averts animals from road fatalities. The invention uses two concave parabolic mirrors, which primarily detect foxes on the road.
De Costa attributes his success to his faith, God-given talents and education where he has learned to create solutions for everyday challenges. Before coming to Ireton, De Costa attended St. Gabriel Center and Queen of Apostles School in Alexandria. He was mentored by engineering teacher Tania Slaton. As the winner of this challenge, De Costa received a fabricated scale model of his design and a 3D printer.
