About Us

About Us

Humanity was never this close to the full-on exploration of the dark abyss of space; it will take place in our century. However, both risks and opportunities will accompany us as we dive deeper. Future Beyond the Atmosphere is a competition that encourage current high school students to explore such risks and opportunities. We are students from across four high schools in the Greater Seattle region, and we all share the passion for the space and the imagination for the future. We hope through this competition we can generate innovative thoughts and discussion, bring awareness to the importance of the space, and in the process inspire one another.

Registration/Submission

CLOSED

First Round

CLOSED

Final Round

March 3rd
William Zhu

William Zhu

Director General

I am William from Newport High School class of 2018. I am the president of Newport Astronomy Club, a wonderful platform where students come together to enrich each other’s mind with presentations and discussions. This competition is a bigger stage for students across multiple schools to gather thoughts and innovations. I look forward to seeing inspiring ideas we will encounter in FBA.

Eva Smerekanych

Eva Smerekanych

Vice Director General

I am Eva from Newport High School class of 2019. I have been deeply fascinated by space ever since I was really little, and have enjoyed pursuing it in various ways from simply looking up at the night sky to driving 19 hours round trip to Oregon for last August's total solar eclipse. I think that FBA will give students a great chance to delve into some exciting space-related topics, and I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Neal Ma

Neal Ma

Vice Director General

My name is Neal Ma and I am in the Newport High School class of 2019. Aerospace and Mechanical engineering have been my passions since I was young. I am currently the president of Newport Rocketry Club, Team Leader of NASA Student Launch Initiative, Vice-President of Newport Science Club, and Treasurer of Newport Starry Knights. I look forward to the competition.

Eshan Kemp

Eshan Kemp

Vice Director General

Eshan is a high school junior at Newport High school with a deep passion for physics/astronomy, history, and coding. Colliding blackholes, general relativity, and a space race to Mars are the type of things which excites Eshan and inspires him to help promote the space sciences. Outside of the classroom, you might find Eshan biking, playing the violin, or rooting for the Seattle Seahawks.

Heesoo Yang

Vice Director General

I’m Heesoo, and I’m in Bellevue High School’s class of 2018. I’ve always admired how science and technology have changed the world for the better. I’m certain that continued investment into STEM will make the world an even better place. As the president of Bellevue High Robotics, and now as a co-founding member of the FBA competition, I hope to inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.

Emily Whelan

Vice Director General

Redmond High School class of 2018.

Maggie Van Nortwick

Committee Member

Eastlake High School class of 2018.

David Cheng

Committee Member

Bellevue High School class of 2019.

Shaoqi Wang

Committee Member

Bellevue High School class of 2020.

Akshay Venkatesh

Committee Member

Newport High School class of 2018.

Richard Liu

Committee Member

Interlake High School class of 2018.