“We often call them ecosystem engineers,” says Pat Megonigal, an ecologist who directs the Smithsonian’s Global Change Research Wetland and studies the plants.For a long while, wetland researchers have wondered whether that skill could help the plants build their way out of climate change.

On the bright side, that means a smaller cottage industry will be needed to ensure that Drogon is fed and cared for without laying waste to the rest of Westeros—or so determined a trio of Maryland high school students on their way to outdueling thousands of other teams in the prestigious Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM).