Twelve students from Orange County have been recognized as top junior innovators in the inaugural Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.
This year, Society for Science partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific to organize one of the nation’s leading science competitions for middle schoolers. The students first competed in affiliated science fairs nationwide, placing in the top 10 percent of projects in the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade divisions. From there, 1,807 students applied for the national contest, where a panel of scientists, educators and engineers chose 300 top scholars.
The challenge was previously sponsored by the Broadcom Foundation as the Broadcom MASTERS from 2010 to 2022. Last year, nine students from Orange County were selected as part of the top 300 list.
The young scholars in 2023 came from 49 states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.
The submitted projects centered on various topics including renewable energy, the dangers of microplastics, UV radiation, prevention of blood clots and others.
“Middle school is a pivotal time in the lives of young people — when many make decisions about engaging in STEM fields,” said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science. “I call on each of these young people to continue down this path, where they have an opportunity to make an impact on our world’s most pressing scientific and engineering challenges.”
Five of Orange County’s 12 semifinalists were from the Westminster School District. Students Ivy Dinh, Donna Kim Huynh, Esther Lee, Maryan Nguyen and Yamin Orozco all attend Warner Middle School.
On Sept. 20, a panel of scientists, engineers and educators will select 30 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists from the top 300, who will convene in Washington, D.C. to compete for over $100,000 in awards and prizes in the fall.
Below are the students representing Orange County through the challenge:
Sharvil Buradkar
Seventh grade, Lakeside Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
“Hot Water Nitinol Engine”
Sailee Charlu
Eighth grade, Orange County School of the Arts
“The Persuasive Power of Humor”
Ivy Dinh
Eighth grade, Warner Middle School, Westminster School District
“The Effects of Commonly Polluted Items on Concrete Bricks”
Maya Gandhi
Eighth grade, Fairmont Private School – Anaheim Hills Campus
“Optimizing Plant Microbial Fuel Cell Energy Output: The Effect of Anodic Substance and Configuration”
Donna Kim Huynh
Eighth grade, Warner Middle School, Westminster School District
“The Effects of Exogenous Melatonin on the Germination and Growth of Bamboo”
Audrey Kim
Seventh grade, Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
“BeeHappy and BeeSion: A Raspberry Pi-Based Artificial Intelligence Live-Streaming Camera Detector and a Portable Prototype With a Mobile App for Monitoring and Alerting About the Condition of Beehives”
Kayla Jing Lam
Seventh grade, Pioneer Middle School, Tustin Unified School District
“Which Recyclable Home Products Make the Best Natural Fertilizer for Plant Growth?”
Esther Lee
Eighth grade, Warner Middle School, Westminster School District
“The Effects of Commonly Polluted Items on Concrete Bricks”
Elijah Keith Lunde
Eighth grade, Fairmont Private School – North Tustin
“It’s All About Offense”
Maryan Nguyen
Eighth grade, Warner Middle School, Westminster School District
“The Effects of Exogenous Melatonin on the Germination and Growth of Bamboo”
Yazmin Orozco
Eighth grade, Warner Middle School, Westminster School District
“The Effects of Commonly Polluted Items on Concrete Bricks”
Meghana Wuppalapati
Sixth grade, Deerfield Elementary School, Irvine Unified School District
“Battle of the Best: Testing the Antibacterial Properties of Extracts From Azadirachta indica (Neem) vs. Piper betel (Betel) Against E. coli”
The students’ names and a state-by-state breakdown of the top 300 can be found at https://www.societyforscience.org/jic/2023-top-300-junior-innovators/.