Several Indian American Middle Schoolers Among Top 300 in Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge

Several Indian Americans are among the top 300 junior innovators in the 2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (The Thermo Fisher JIC), the nation’s premier science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competition for middle school students. A program of Society for Science, The Thermo Fisher JIC, seeks to inspire young scientists, engineers and innovators to solve the grand challenges of the future.

The Top 300 Junior Innovators were selected from nearly 2,000 students from 48 states, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. Each of the Top 300 Junior Innovators will receive a $125 award from the Department of Defense. Finalists will be announced on Sept. 18, and will compete for top awards.

“The next generation of scientists and engineers emerging from middle schools today is remarkable,” said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO, Society for Science and Executive Publisher, Science News. “Their projects tackle real-world problems with creativity and rigor beyond their years. I congratulate each and every one of the Top 300 Junior Innovators and wish them the best of luck in their scientific and engineering careers.”

Indian American Junior Innovators include:

Agarwal, Adia

Grade: 7th
School: Bak Middle School Of The Arts 

Project Title: Investigating the Efficiency of the Hydrogen Energy Cycle

Aggarwal, Kush

Grade: 8th
School: Charles F. Patton Middle School
Project Title: Ionic Thrusters: Propelling Our Future

Agrawal, Ishaan

Grade: 7th
School: Aptakisic Junior High School
Project Title: Lotus Effect

Anand, Atharv

Grade: 8th
School: Coral Academy Of Science Las Vegas – Sandy Ridge Campus
Project Title: AI-Powered Recycle and Trash Sorting Robot

Azhar, Mohammad

Grade: 7th
School: Aptakisic Junior High School
Project Title: The Superhydrophobic Lotus Effect

Babu, Alisa

Grade: 8th
School: W.T. Clarke Middle School
Project Title: The Effect of Varying Electron Donor Additions to Sediment in a Microbia Fuel Cell on the Amount of Energy Produced

Bahety, Vansh

Grade: 8th
School: Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Project Title: StreetSafe: Reducing Fatalities on Crosswalks With Wearable ML-Incorporated Tech

Balaji, Deven

Grade: 8th
School: Robert Frost Middle School
Project Title: Scout: An AI Assistant for the Visually Impaired

Banerjee, Adwik

Grade: 8th
School: Springhouse Middle School
Project Title: Sugar Overload: Effect of High Sugar Diet on the Health of Drosophila melanogaster

Bangalore, Saveen

Grade: 6th
School: Challenger School – Silverado
Project Title: What is the Effect of the Color of Window Tint on the Temperature of Car on a Hot, Sunny Day?

Bharadwaj, Aanya

Grade: 7th
School: Randolph Middle School
Project Title: When Will Charlotte City Start Choking? Evaluating Current Measures and Predicting Air Quality in Charlotte Using Novel Machine Learning Application

Bhoda, Yash

Grade: 8th
School: McCullough Junior High School
Project Title: Spotting the Spots: Skin Cancer Classification Using Machine Learning

Bokde, Pranay

Grade: 8th
School: Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Project Title: StreetSafe: Reducing Fatalities on Crosswalks With Wearable ML-Incorporated Tech

Borkar, Gauri

Grade: 7th
School: Orlando Science School Middle/High Charter
Project Title: Stock Market – The Unpredictable

Chatterjee, Riya

Grade: 8th
School: Harker School
Project Title: Beneath the Tide: Unleashing the Power of Calcium Ions and Seaweed to Create Food-Safe Biofabric

Chevva, Aarav

Grade: 8th
School: Academy Of Aerospace And Engineering
Project Title: Combining Optical Wireless Communications (OCW) and Neuromorphic Architecture for Large-Scale Computations

Chheda, Ronit

Grade: 7th
School: Fort Settlement Middle School
Project Title: What is the Next Technological Breakthrough in Batteries for Energy Storage?

Chidambaram, Rhea

Grade: 8th
School: The Village School
Project Title: From Landfill to Lab: Unveiling the Biodegradable Potential of Everyday Materials for Packaging

Chitteti, Nikit

Grade: 8th
School: Fruit Cove Middle School
Project Title: ScanScription – An App That Scans Prescriptions to Create Reminders

Devarajan, Vedika

Grade: 7th
School: Timberline Middle School
Project Title: Project ASSURE: A Revolutionary Diagnostic Approach of Viable Biomarker Analyzation & Prevention of Epilepsy Misdiagnosis Through Machine Learning

Dodla, Aryan

Grade: 7th
School: Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School
Project Title: Does Soil Bulk Density Affect Optimum Planting Depth for Germination?

Dudda, Radika

Grade: 7th
School: Voorhees Middle School
Project Title: How Medicinal Herbs Benefit Gut Microbiome; Prediction Model for Drug Development

Gandhi, Veda

Grade: 8th
School: Springhouse Middle School
Project Title: Powerful Plastics: The Effect of Glycerin on a Bioplastic Made With Sargassum Seaweed

Garg, Shreyas

Grade: 6th
School: Edwin Rhodes Elementary School
Project Title: Balsa Brilliance: Which Type of Truss Tower Design Can Hold the Most Weight?

Gautham, Apoorva

Grade: 8th
School: Uplift North Hills Preparatory
Project Title: Boosted Biotics With Microbial Alchemy: A Low Cost, Scalable, Translational Approach to Propagate Probiotic Supplements in Fermented Food Matrices To Mitigate Malabsorption in Developing Countries

Goel, Rudra

Grade: 7th
School: Stratford Middle School
Project Title: Increasing Earthquake Resilience Through Construction Column’s Cross-Sectional Shapes and Patterns

Gupta, Anya

Grade: 8th
School: A.D. Henderson University Lab School
Project Title: Machine Learning (ML) Model for Predicting E-Waste Toxicity [ML-PET]: Studying the Effects of Metallic Toxicants on Daphnia magna

Hegde, Vaibhavi

Grade: 7th
School: Hauppauge Middle School

Project Title: What Materials Work Best for Creating Biodegradable Plastic?

Hirsave, Arya

Grade: 6th
School: Canyon Vista Middle School
Project Title: Effect of Various Antibiotics on Digestive Enzyme Activity

Honarpour, Nika

Grade: 7th
School: The Archer School For Girls
Project Title: Material vs Matter: A Study of Different Material’s Abilities To Block Secondhand Smoke Inhalation

Iyengar, Tyler

Grade: 8th
School: Lower Macungie Middle School
Project Title: The Effect of Pesticides vs. Genetically Modified Corn on Terrestrial Invertebrates (Acheta domesticus) and Aquatic Invertebrates (Caecidotea communis)

Iyengar, Vedanth

Grade: 8th
School: Pennfield Middle School
Project Title: Health Effects of Different Flavors of E-Cigarettes

Jalani, Ayush

Grade: 8th
School: Springhouse Middle School
Project Title: A Novel Idea To Harness Electricity: A Step Towards a Cleaner Future

Kale, Sana

Grade: 8th
School: Creekside Park Junior High School
Project Title: Identifying the Effects of Biomarkers on Breast Cancer Development Using Machine Learning

Khaire, Reva

Grade: 7th
School: Randolph Middle School
Project Title: A Novel Machine Learning Approach To Predict Post-Fire Tree Mortality Using Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) Integration

Kimmel, Ashok

Grade: 8th
School: Whitney M. Young High School Academic Center
Project Title: Enhancing Division Efficiency Across Number Bases Using Pascal’s Divisibility Theorems and Patterns in Divisibility Rules

Kris, Sanika

Grade: 7th
School: Stratford Middle School
Project Title: Empowering the Visually Impaired Through Smart Navigation

Krishnamurthy, Rishabh

Grade: 7th
School: Dorseyville Middle School
Project Title: Can Crowdsourced Weather Monitoring Work?

Kulkarni, Jay

Grade: 8th
School: Dover Sherborn Middle School
Project Title: Effects of Different Strengths of Voltage in Electric Currents on Plant Growth

Kundojjala, Srivalli

Grade: 7th
School: Challenger School – Traverse Mountain
Project Title: Waste to Whaaatt?

Kutty, Shriya

Grade: 7th
School: Timberline Middle School
Project Title: ScaNose: Development of a Non-Invasive Device for Blood Glucose and COPD Risk Estimation

Macheri, Anagha

Grade: 8th
School: Malcolm Bridge Middle Scool
Project Title: Assessing Heat Exposure Risks Around Athens

Mahadevan, Samvith

Grade: 7th
School: Canyon Vista Middle School
Project Title: Novel Application of Olfactory Sensor Arrays in the Detection of Food Allergens Using Artificial Intelligence

Mahapatra, Rahul

Grade: 8th
School: Pearson Ranch Middle School
Project Title: Effect of Barley Straw and Duckweed To Control Harmful Algal Blooms

Mahapatra, Siddhant

Grade: 6th
School: Dodgen Middle School
Project Title: Alzheimer’s Chain: Target Protein Interaction Network and Molecular Docking

Maitra, Abhiti

Grade: 7th
School: Jackson Heights Middle School
Project Title: A New and Novel Approach To Calculate Interstellar Distances With Precision by Applying Geometric Ratios to a Square

Mandiwal, Aashita

Grade: 7th
School: West High School
Project Title: Using Fractal Analysis To Detect Abnormalities in Cancerous Cells

Manikandan, Gautam Esvar

Grade: 8th
School: Imagine International Academy Of North Texas
Project Title: Emergency Response Assist Service for the Missing and Exploited

Manikandan, Palaniappan

Grade: 8th
School: Academy Of Aerospace And Engineering
Project Title: Using Piezoelectric Sensors To Harvest Energy From Automobile Tires and Road Surface

Masson, Varun

Grade: 8th
School: Carden School Of Fresno
Project Title: Revolutionizing Emissions Control: Engineering a Sustainable Catalytic Converter Utilizing Abundant Metals

Medatati, Shreyansh

Grade: 7th
School: Dr. Augustine Ramirez Intermediate School
Project Title: Understanding and Applying a Solar Powered Irrigation System

Mehta, Yash

Grade: 8th
School: Durham Academy
Project Title: Using Motors To Simulate Braille

Mishra, Neal

Grade: 8th
School: Malcolm Bridge Middle School
Project Title: Assessing Heat Exposure Risks Around Athens

Mistry, Devshree

Grade: 8th
School: Challenger School – Shawnee
Project Title: EcoBin: A Bin With Fill Level Detection That Uses an AI Machine Learning Model To Sort Recyclables From Non-Recyclables

Naidu, Vera

Grade: 7th
School: Saint Francis Of Assisi School
Project Title: Improving a Medical Robot With Haptics and a High-Resolution IR Camera

Nambiar, Chinmay

Grade: 8th
School: Fishers Junior High School
Project Title: How Do Compound and Element Gases Affect an Electric Field?

Nirmal, Aarav

Grade: 8th
School: Pioneer Heritage Middle School
Project Title: Analyzing Music From the Perspective of Mathematics

Nune, Rohan

 Grade: 8th
School: Leona Marshall Libby Middle School
Project Title: Powering the Future: Iron-Based Batteries for Sustainable Energy Storage

Nuthakki, Rohith

Grade: 8th
School: Homeschool
Project Title: W-EYE Wound Monitoring and Classification System To Detect Early Infection

Padala, Tanvi

Grade: 8th
School: McKamy Middle School
Project Title: Enhancing Independence – a Next-Gen Switch-Adapted Pourer for Older Adults and Individuals With Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities

Paranthaman, Samhita

Grade: 8th
School: Mason Middle School
Project Title: A Novel Two-Pronged Approach To Control Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Mitigate Microcystin Levels in a Freshwater Ecosystem

Parmar, Rhea

Grade: 8th
School: Meyzeek Middle School
Project Title: Benefiting Breast Cancer Diagnosis While Using AI

Parthasarathy, Jeyanth Narayan

Grade: 8th
School: Pacific Trails Middle School
Project Title: Reducing Motion Sickness Caused by Regenerative Breaking Systems

Patel, Maan

Grade: 8th
School: McCullough Junior High School
Project Title: MYopia: The Optical Ciliary Muscle Training App

Patel, Sahil

Grade: 8th
School: Martinez Middle School
Project Title: The Ramifications of Fertilizers on the Microbiome of Garden Cress

Patel, Samipa

Grade: 8th
School: Solon Middle School
Project Title: The Effects of Various Substances on Tannin-Rich Plants

Pathak, Advika

Grade: 7th
School: Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Project Title: Efficiently Harvesting Solar Energy

Pillai, Shiv

Grade: 8th
School: American Heritage School Boca Delray
Project Title: Advanced Deceleration Using a Porous Substance and Hydraulic Stoppers (ADUPS-HS) To Reduce the G-Force in Car Crashes

Ponnachana, Atharv

Grade: 8th
School: Fairmont Private School
Project Title: Creating a Versatile Mobile Device To Assist the Visually Impaired Using Object Detection

Pramanik, Manaal

Grade: 8th
School: W.T. Clarke Middle School
Project Title: The Effect of Varying Electron Donor Additions to Sediment in a Microbia Fuel Cell on the Amount of Energy Produced

Raisinghani, Kiyan

Grade: 8th
School: Challenger School – Strawberry Park
Project Title: Ionize, Magnetize, Energize

Rajan, Akshara

Grade: 8th
School: Whitney M. Young High School Academic Center
Project Title: Why KNOT?

Rajesh, Atharv

Grade: 8th
School: Lionville Middle School

Project Title: Rolling Into the Future With Piezoelectricity

Ram, Adwita

Grade: 8th
School: Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Project Title: Constructing a Concussion Detecting Headband That Alerts a Concussion Based on Force of Impact

Raman, Tejas

Grade: 8th
School: Boulder Country Day School
Project Title: Real-Time Processing of Data and Detection of Averages and Patterns From a Data Stream To Detect the Likelihood of an Earthquake in the Near Future

Ramsankar, Vaiga

Grade: 8th
School: Laramie Junior High School

Project Title: Herbicide vs. Native Plants: How Are Dark Septate Endophytes of Native Plants Affected by Herbicide?

Roy, Vaedanth

Grade: 7th
School: Stratford Middle School
Project Title: Incident Surfaces and Polarization by Reflection

Sable, Anushka

Grade: 8th
School: Wadsworth Magnet School
Project Title: PS-Risk: Plastic Microparticle Pollution in Human Blood Affects Immune Cells and Leads to Tumor-Like Structure Formation in the 3D Cell Culture Assays

Sabniveesu, Ishanvi

Grade: 8th
School: Sunlake Academy Of Math And Science
Project Title: Detecting Impurities in Wine With Sound Pattern Analysis

Samanta, Soham

Grade: 7th
School: Massachusetts Virtual Academy At Greenfield
Project Title: Unfolding the Tesseract: Path Unfoldings of the 4D Hypercube’s 2-Skeleton

Sameer, Ruhi

Grade: 8th
School: Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Project Title: Constructing a Concussion Detecting Headband That Alerts a Concussion Based on Force of Impact

Saraf, Arnav

Grade: 7th
School: Canyon Vista Middle School
Project Title: Unveiling Harmonics: An Exploration of Hidden Notes in the Tanpura

Saravanan, Rishik

Grade: 8th
School: Meyzeek Middle School
Project Title: CareBot – Frugal Desktop Patient Assistant Robot Using Real-Time Object Detection AI

Saravanan, Tejesh

Grade: 6th
School: Meyzeek Middle School
Project Title: CareBot – Frugal Desktop Patient Assistant Robot Using Real-Time Object Detection AI

Satheesh Kumar, Kaushik

Grade: 8th
School: Oak Middle School
Project Title: Generating Voltage in Sucrose (Sugar) Crystals Using Piezoelectricity

Sathish Kumar, Mihir

Grade: 7th
School: Hauppauge Middle School
Project Title: BioPlastClean: An Eco Clean Solution for Microplastic Filtration

Sen, Ritam

Grade: 8th
School: Francis Parker School
Project Title: Can Elemental Sulfur Influence the Growth of Different Plants in Lunar Regolith?

Sethu, Vishahan

Grade: 7th
School: Lionville Middle School
Project Title: Beating the Bull Market With Artificial Intelligence

Shah, Vivaan

Grade: 7th
School: Baker Middle School
Project Title: A Navigational Solution To Assist the Visually Impaired Using Machine Learning

Sharma, Aryan

Grade: 8th
School: Lawler Middle School
Project Title: SunSync

Sharma, Pratham

Grade: 7th
School: Thomas Edison Charter School
Project Title: Solar-Powered Boat

Sharma, Smayan

Grade: 8th
School: Baker Middle School
Project Title: Intelligent Portable Real-Time Handheld Cordless Braille Translator

Shetty, Tanish

Grade: 8th
School: Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy
Project Title: Utilizing Novel Machine Learning Models To Quickly and Easily Diagnose Malignant Breast Cancer Cells With Data Obtained From Minimally-Invasive Methods

Sood, Sia

Grade: 7th
School: John Adams Middle School
Project Title: Does High Technology Use Correlate With Stress in Middle School Students?

Sreedhar, Rhea

Grade: 8th
School: Fairmont Private School – Anaheim Hills Campus
Project Title: Closed Loop CO₂ Capture and Electricity Generation Using Algal Fuel Cells: A Comparative Study on Spirulina and Chlorella

Sridhar, Aditya

Grade: 8th
School: Challenger School
Project Title: Innovative Microplastics Removal: A Deep-Learning and Ferrofluid Approach

Srikrishna, Sia

Grade: 7th
School: Stratford Middle School
Project Title: Let There Be Light: A Saltwater Battery Powered Eco-Friendly Light

Subash, Sirish

Grade: 8th
School: Alton C. Crews Middle School
Project Title: PestiSCAND: An AI-Based Handheld Pesticide Detector

Suren, Rithvik

Grade: 8th
School: Academy Of Aerospace And Engineering
Affiliated Fair Name and ID: Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair (USCT50)
Project Title: Combining Optical Wireless Communications (OCW) and Neuromorphic Architecture for Large-Scale Computations

Susarla, Jairam

Grade 7th
School: The Honor Roll School
Project Title: Evaluating Various ML Models to Efficiently Uncover Exoplanets

Tandon, Anvi

Grade: 7th
School: Stratford Middle School
Project Title: Empowering the Visually Impaired Through Smart Navigation

Tejura, Jiya

Grade: 7th
School: Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Project Title: Efficiently Harvesting Solar Energy

Tibrewal, Aarav

Grade: 6th
School: Beaumont Middle School
Project Title: Isolating the Effects of Zipf’s Law to Dictionary Selection Through Random Text

Tripathi, Adya

Grade: 6th
School: Jose M. Lopez Middle School
Project Title: Using Novel, Affordable and Sustainable Additives to Stabilize Soil: A Better Way to Prevent Structural Damage

Trivedi, Jainil

Grade: 7th
School: Gale Ranch Middle School
Project Title: A Smart AI-Enabled IOT Solution for Detecting Toxic Gases in Low-Income and Industrial Communities

Vanamala, Eesha

Grade: 8th
School: Brooklawn Middle School

Project Title: Psyche: A Novel Arduino-Based Method Using Probabilistic Reward Task and EEG Signaling for Major Depressive Disorder Detection

Varghese, Sarah

Grade: 8th
School: Ridgecrest Intermediate School
Project Title: Identifying the Most Efficient Object Recognition Algorithm To Assist the Visually Impaired Using Machine Learning, Optimized for Mobile Applications

Vashi, Aarush

Grade: 8th
School: Challenger School – Berryessa
Project Title: AI-Powered Waste Sorter

Venkataragavan, Diya

Grade: 8th
School: Pearson Ranch Middle School
Project Title: Advanced Weapon Detection: Enhancing Security Systems With Multi-Model Machine Learning

Wadekar, Anwita

Grade: 8th
School: Worcester Academy
Project Title: For the Love of Peat: An Eco-Friendly Growing Medium for Microgreens

Wansapura, Hiruni

Grade: 8th
School: Robinson Middle School
Project Title: Sycamore Seed Inspired Fan Blade Design for a Portable Air Purifier

Yenduri, Daivik

Grade: 8th
School: Stoller Middle School
Project Title: Integrating Machine Learning With Active, Dual Axis Solar Tracking for Enhanced Energy Harvesting Efficiency

Yenugonda, Tanmay

Grade: 8th
School: Hale Charter Academy
Project Title: Harnessing Eco-Friendly Nano-Emulsions To Prevent Ocean Oil Spills