The SpectraWizard’s Spectroscopy Application Challenge has come to a close! 🌍✨ Spectroscopists from across the globe went head-to-head for a shot at $5,000 in StellarCash. We’re thrilled to announce the winning spectroscopy application below — and don’t miss our Back to School Spectrometer Special, running now through the end of September!

A huge thank you to all who entered. With so many incredible submissions, choosing the winners was no easy task. We’re excited to finally share this standout application with you! Be sure to follow us on social media for all the latest updates.

1st Place: Emily Causi and The Carleton University Robotics Team

The 2025 Winner of our SpectraWizard Spectroscopy Application Challenge is Emily Causi and The Carleton University Robotics Team. They are redefining planetary exploration with their custom-built 785 nm Raman spectrometer — a powerful tool designed to uncover the molecular fingerprints of life.

Mounted on the rover’s Planetary Extraction and Analysis Tool (PEAT), the Raman spectrometer excites soil particles with laser light to reveal carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds, including carotenoids — organic markers that can only be formed by living processes. This non-destructive analysis happens in real time, right in the field, without waiting for samples to return to a lab.

Why It Matters

The Carleton University Robotics Team CPRT

🔬 Life Detection: The Raman spectrometer identifies sugars, carbonates, and organic compounds that point to past or present habitability.
🚀 Proven Technology: Successfully field-tested at the Mars Desert Research Station, it delivered spectra even in harsh, Mars-like conditions.
🌍 All-in-One System: Combined with chemical assays, microscopy, and environmental sensors, PEAT offers a full science suite in a compact rover module.

The CPRT’s Planetary Extraction and Analysis Tool (PEAT) brings together everything needed to study habitability in one compact system. Its custom 785 nm Raman spectrometer detects sugars, carbonates, and other organic compounds that signal past or present life.

Field-tested at the Mars Desert Research Station, it proved its strength by capturing spectra in challenging, Mars-like conditions. Paired with chemical assays, microscopy, and environmental sensors, PEAT delivers a complete, real-time science suite designed for planetary discovery.

Read Full Application Here

Key Features of PEAT

The Planetary Extraction and Analysis Tool (PEAT) was built for efficiency and depth, combining multiple instruments into one rover-ready system. From Raman spectroscopy to chemical assays, microscopy, and environmental sensing, each feature works together to uncover clues of habitability and life in real time.

Highlighted Features

785 nm Raman Spectroscopy — the heart of the mission, detecting molecular “fingerprints” tied to biology.
Chemical Assays — rapid carbonate detection to trace past water.
Microscopy — imaging textures, grains, and potential microfossils.
Environmental Sensors — tracking temperature, CO₂, and moisture for habitability context.

The Bigger Picture

With the Raman spectrometer at its core, PEAT bridges classroom innovation with real-world astrobiology. By detecting biosignatures directly on-site, the CPRT rover project moves us closer to answering the ultimate question: Are we alone?

Inspired by successful NASA rover missions, CPRT engineered a DIY system that combines drilling, spectroscopy, chemical assays, and imaging in one compact tool. Tested in the field at the Mars Desert Research Station, PEAT demonstrates how student-led innovation can deliver mission-ready science, advancing the search for life and shaping the future of planetary exploration.

Runner-Up: Two

Dr. Luisa Cencha

From Spectrum to Sight: Hybrid Photonic Sensors with Naked-Eye Readout

Dr. Luisa and her team develop hybrid photonic devices that combine porous silicon structures with functional polymer coatings to deliver both optical sensitivity and molecular selectivity. The porous silicon acts as a photonic crystal with sharp reflectance features, while tailored polymers introduced into the pores provide analyte-specific selectivity without blocking diffusion. The sensing mechanism is entirely optical: changes in refractive index or polymer swelling shift the reflectance spectrum, which can be captured with a simple UV–Vis spectrometer. By tuning the polymer formulation, this versatile platform can detect targets ranging from glucose to arsenic, pharmaceutical residues, and even pathogens like SARS-CoV-2—enabling portable, low-cost, and scalable sensing technologies for healthcare and environmental monitoring.

Runner-Up: Three

Grade 11 Student Engineering Contest in David Jamieson’s Classes

Maple Ridge Secondary Physics Classes

In David Jamieson’s Grade 11 physics classes at Maple Ridge Secondary, students learn through engineering contests, lab work, and building projects rather than traditional lectures. One highlight is the Spectrum Analyzer contest, where small groups design and calibrate a diffraction grating and photoresistor-based spectroscope using classroom tools. Students record light intensity at different angles, use Google Sheets to graph spectra, and calibrate with LEDs and gas discharge tubes. The contest culminates with analyzing a pink LED—actually a red and blue LED in one lens—allowing students to submit data for evaluation with a custom program, giving them authentic hands-on experience in quantitative spectroscopy.