West Philly Hybrid X team earns Popular Mechanics Next Generation Breakthrough Award

breakthrough-02-west-philly-1011-mdn — Clockwise from left: Jeffrey Johnson, Stefon Gonzalez, Brandon Ford, Shamere Palmer, Adam Mitchell, Sydney Dickerson, Azeem Hill, Morris Bailey and Ciera Williams Dennis Kleiman Read more: The West Philly Students Who Build Supercars - 2011 Breakthrough Award Winner - Popular Mechanics. Photo by Dennis Kleiman

The respected West Philadelphia High School Hybrid X team has been given the Next Generation Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine:

Of the 111 Teams that competedfor the $10 million purse in last year’s Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, only one was from a high school—West Philadelphia, where85 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. West Philly entered two vehicles—a Factory Five GTM biodiesel hybrid kit car and a converted Ford Focus gasoline plug-in hybrid—and made it to the semifinals with both. “We were going up against teams that had dozens of engineers, and we had 15 students, a couple of teachers and a dream,” says adviser Simon Hauger, a teacher in the school’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering. “One of the marvelous things about teenagers is they’re not daunted by that.”

more news

Pitt debuts new $25M Trivedi Institute to turn space research into life science startups

The initiative uses microgravity and extreme conditions to speed up medical discoveries and turn them into startups.

by Alice Crow February 3, 2026February 3, 2026

Can Richmond’s pharma corridor and civic muscle turn consistency into startup velocity?

A report by the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center praises Virginia’s capital for developing high-performing entrepreneurs, but says it needs statewide heft.

by Christopher Wink February 3, 2026February 3, 2026

Technical.ly’s jobs board evolves as the tech economy resets

After nearly two decades helping match talent and employers, we’re updating our model for the next cycle of entrepreneurship and economic development.

by Christopher Wink February 2, 2026February 1, 2026

From layoffs to launches: Maryland’s indie game developers seize an industry shift

As ballooning costs and longer production cycles strain major publishers, smaller teams are finding room to grow — and meaning in the creative freedom.

by Maria Eberhart February 2, 2026January 31, 2026

Delaware taps Code Differently grads to advance thousands of stalled unemployment claims

By embedding newly trained software engineers inside the state Dept. of Labor, Mission Backlog is translating workforce development into real solutions.

by Holly Quinn February 2, 2026February 1, 2026