Discover out who received 'America's Prime Younger Scientist' for 2025

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What was this 12 months’s profitable undertaking?3M’s ‘Younger Scientist’ finalists, their initiatives What’s 3M’s ‘Younger Scientist Problem’?How do you enter the problem?

America has a brand new “Prime Younger Scientist.”

Kevin Tang, an eighth grade pupil at Cedarlane Academy in Hacienda Heights, California, was topped the winner of the 2025 Younger Scientist Problem on Oct. 14 on the 3M Innovation Middle in St. Paul, Minnesota. This competitors is designed for center college college students in grades 5 to eight and arranged by 3M in partnership with Discovery Schooling.

The task was easy: Determine an on a regular basis downside and give you a workable resolution.

Almost a dozen finalists from throughout the nation participated within the problem, creating a novel undertaking with help from a 3M-afiliated mentor over the summer season, in line with the corporate’s information launch.

What was this 12 months’s profitable undertaking?

With assist from mentor Mark Gilbertson, a 3M senior robotics and automation engineer, Tang created “FallGuard,” a fall detection system that may “speed up emergency responses to falls amongst older adults at house, even at nighttime.”

With an algorithm that analyzes video enter, Tang’s machine identifies falls and alerts family members utilizing a smartphone app. FallGuard also can detect irregular strolling actions, which could possibly be a symptom of a stroke.

Tang’s “new resolution advances present choices in the marketplace via the flexibility to seize imagery at night time and supply around-the-clock monitoring,” 3M mentioned in an Oct. 14 assertion.

Along with the title of “America’s Prime Younger Scientist” and corresponding trophy, Tang will obtain $25,000 and a “distinctive vacation spot journey.”

Nevertheless, most of the contributors go on to begin their very own corporations after the problem, with some reaching “30 below 30” degree fame, Torie Clarke, 3M’s EVP and chief public affairs officer, beforehand informed USA TODAY.

3M’s ‘Younger Scientist’ finalists, their initiatives

Whereas Tang could have taken the competitors’s prime prize, 3M and Discovery Schooling additionally acknowledged first runner-up Amaira Srivastava of Gilbert, Arizona, and second runner-up Anirudh Rao of Lone Tree, Colorado, on the awards ceremony.

All 10 of 3M’s “Younger Scientist” finalists, together with the Prime 3, who shaped a part of this summer season’s mentorship program cohort, additionally earned a $1,000 money prize for his or her participation.

Here is a have a look at the complete checklist of 3M’s “Younger Scientist” finalists:

Amaira Srivastava – Created FlavoPeel Cups, biodegradable cups infused with fruit peels to combat plastic waste, cut back meals waste, and ship pure vitamins via water. Srivastava labored along with her mentor, Rohit Gupta, a product improvement specialist in M3’s Automotive and Aerospace Division.
Anirudh Rao – Created a moisture-powered nano-generator, which was developed to offer “clear, reasonably priced electrical energy for well being and environmental sensors in areas with out dependable entry to energy.” Rao labored along with his mentor, Aditya Banerji, a analysis specialist with 3M.
Shrey Arora – Arora created FreshMate, a sensible fridge machine that tracks meals expiration dates to assist cut back waste and save money. Arora labored along with his mentor, Lalitha Ganapatibhotla, a sophisticated product improvement specialist with 3M.
Divyam Desai – Developed a sensible irrigation system, which screens the moisture degree in soil round a constructing’s basis and delivers water to every zone as wanted. The system’s objective is to stop structural tilt and preserve water in clay-rich areas. Desai labored along with his mentor, Caitlin Race, a analysis specialist with 3M.
Kiyara Gunawardena – Gunawardena developed Steady Statement and Analysis for Aquatic Life (CORAL), a low-cost underwater robotic that captures water information and 360-degree footage, serving to scientists “monitor ocean well being while not having divers.” Gunawardena labored along with her mentor Ann Gilman, a sophisticated analysis specialist with 3M.
Isha Marla – Marla developed AlginaFAB, a cloth produced from seaweed and different pure supplies designed to copy the “power and suppleness of conventional textiles whereas additionally breaking down simply within the atmosphere.” Marla labored along with her mentor, Rodrigo Marmol, a world portfolio supervisor with 3M.
Reanna Bhuyan Patel – Patel created Infini-TE, a tool that captures “versatile electrical energy from surrounding warmth utilizing thermoelectric ideas.” The machine supplies communities “stricken by power waste” with an accessible power supply, subsequently decreasing dependency on nonrenewable assets. Patel labored along with her mentor, Stephanie Owen, an expanded beam optics laboratory supervisor and superior product improvement specialist with 3M.
Sheyna Patel – Patel developed a hydrogel that captures and breaks down microplastics with an effectivity of over 93%. The gel is unhazardous and can be utilized as a device to assist shield aquatic ecosystems. Patel labored along with her mentor, Deborah Isabelle, a product engineering specialist with 3M.
Aniket Sarkar – Sarkar designed a low-cost moisture-capturing system that pulls water from dry air to “assist farmers develop crops in more and more arid areas of the American Midwest and West.” Sarkar labored along with his mentor, Timothy Hebrink, a senior employees scientist with 3M Company Analysis Lab.

What’s 3M’s ‘Younger Scientist Problem’?

Center college college students from throughout the nation enter for an opportunity to compete and later win 3M’s “Younger Scientist Problem,” the nation’s top-tiered center college science competitors.

Based on a 3M information launch, the problem duties the nation’s finest and brightest with creating an unique, distinctive resolution to an on a regular basis downside.

College students can submit proposals below any of the next classes: robotics, house enchancment, automotive, security, AR/VR and local weather expertise.

“At 3M, we’re all about discovering superb individuals who convey innovation and creativity to producing merchandise that actually change lives, tackling exhausting issues and altering and bettering individuals’s lives,” Clarke mentioned. “This competitors is the epitome of it.”

How do you enter the problem?

To enter the problem for subsequent 12 months, center college college students should submit a brief presentation about an on a regular basis downside and their proposed resolution. Video entries must be between one and two minutes lengthy.

Based on 3M, a panel of consultants then judges the entry primarily based on the next metrics:

Creativity
Scientific information
Persuasiveness and efficient communication
Total presentation

College students considering taking part on this 12 months’s “Younger Scientist Problem” had from Jan. 8 to Might 1 to submit their video entries. The “Prime 10 finalists” had been contacted in early June, whereas all State Benefit Winners had been contacted in mid-June.

Julia is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers scientific research and trending information. Join along with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or e mail her at jgomez@gannett.com