Now Reading
America’s Top Young Scientist: Georgia Teen Sirish Subash Wins 3M Young Scientist Challenge for Handheld Pesticide Detector

America’s Top Young Scientist: Georgia Teen Sirish Subash Wins 3M Young Scientist Challenge for Handheld Pesticide Detector

  • The 14-year-old Indian American, who competed against nine other finalists, secured his win during final challenge events at 3M global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month.

Sirish Subash, a ninth grader from the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrenceville, Georgia, has won the 2024 3M Young Scientist Challenge, for his invention of an at-home, handheld pesticide detector. The 14-year-old Indian American earned the bragging rights of being America’s Top Young Scientist, and received a cash prize of $25,000.  

Called Pestiscand, the tool measures the wavelength of light reflecting off of fruits and veggies and uses machine learning to let you know if your food is pesticide-free, according to 3M, who conducts the annual 3M Young Scientist Challenge. The science and engineering competition is administered by Discovery Education and 3M for middle school students in the United States.  All users have to do is download an app, point the tool at the food in question, and see if another rinse may or may not be necessary. “That’s the main goal of Pestiscand, to help people ensure that they aren’t consuming pesticides used so they can avoid any associated health risks,” Subash told MPR News.

Subash told MPR Ness that he got this particular idea from his mom and dad. “My parents always insist that I wash my produce before consuming it,” he said. “I wondered, how necessary is this really, and how effective is the washing,” he said. “Does it really work to ensure that your produce is clean?” That’s the power of following your curiosity.”

Pestiscand “employs spectrophotometry, which involves measuring how light of various wavelengths is reflected off the surface of fruits and vegetables,” 3M said. A machine learning model then analyzes this data to determine the presence of pesticides. Pestiscand consists of a sensor, a power supply, a display screen, and a processor. During testing, the device achieved an accuracy rate of identifying pesticide residues on spinach and tomatoes of greater than 85%, meeting the project’s objectives for effectiveness and speed. 

Subash competed against nine other finalists and secured his win during final Challenge events at 3M global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Oct. 14 and 15. Finalists navigated a series of interactive challenges and were evaluated on their ingenuity and innovative thinking, application of STEM principles, demonstration of passion and research, presentation skills, and ability to inspire others.  

The finalists were paired with a 3M scientist who mentors and worked with them one-on-one over the summer to transform their idea from concept to prototype. Subash was paired with Aditya Banerji, senior research engineer of 3M’s Corporate Research Process Laboratory.   

Subash told MPR News that he discovered his interest in science in first grade and wanted to apply for the Challenge but almost missed his shot. Students have to be in fifth through eighth grade at the time of their application. “I had skipped fifth grade, so I couldn’t enter that year. Sixth grade, my family was in India for a good majority of that time, so I wasn’t able to get my project set up that year. Seventh grade, I did enter, but it didn’t work out,” he said.  “So eighth grade, this is, this was my last year to apply. So I wanted to make it worth it, because this has been somewhat of a dream of mine to make it here.”

See Also

Although he doesn’t know what his future will look like, he told MPR News that he plans to use some of his prize money for higher education. “One thing I know is that I love physics… And one of the biggest things I want to do is I want to work on devices that will impact everyday people, that will impact everyone’s lives for the better,” he said. “That’s one of my that’s one of my goals in life, to [make] a positive mark on the world.”

Minula Weerasekera, a nonth grader from Beaverton, Oregon, and William Tan, an eighth grader from Scarsdale, New York, won the second and third place, respectively. Weerasekera developed a solution for storing energy for longer through organic compounds and a sulfur-based terhiophene.  Tan  developed an AI Smart Artificial Reef that encourages coral, seashells, kelp and other marine life to grow in a safe and controlled environment. They both received a $2,000 prize.

Finalists who won fourth through tenth place include: Ankan Das from Sanford, Florida; Aakash Manaswi from Orlando, Florida; Prince Nallamothula from Frisco, Texas; Ronita Shukla from Acton, Massachusetts, and Rithvik Suren from Ellington, Connecticut. 

What's Your Reaction?
Excited
0
Happy
0
In Love
0
Not Sure
0
Silly
0
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

© 2020 American Kahani LLC. All rights reserved.

The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of American Kahani.
Scroll To Top