Meet the 14-Year-Old Inventor Named Top Young Scientist in America
People usually wash their produce before eating to remove residue from pesticides. But are your fruits and veggies really clean enough to eat? Now 14-year-old Sirish Subash from Georgia has won the 2024 3M Young Scientist Challenge for inventing an AI-based handheld pesticide detector that is very accurate in detecting pesticide residue.
The ninth grader at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology in Snellville has received the title “America’s Top Young Scientist,” according to a press release from 3M.
About the competition
Now in its 17th year, the challenge supports middle school students to think creatively and apply STEM principals to discover real world solutions. When the finalists are chosen, they are paired with a 3M scientist who mentors them over the summer to help take their ideas from just concepts to prototypes.
Sirish spent four months competing against nine other finalists and secured his win at the final challenge events at 3M’s global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota that were held on October 14 and 15, 2024. The finalists had to traverse a series of interactive challenges and were evaluated on their innovation, application of STEM, as well as their ability to inspire others.
“This year’s Young Scientist Challenge finalists have demonstrated an incredible ability to develop creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” Torie Clarke, EVP and chief public affairs officer at 3M, said in the press release. “I am beyond impressed and inspired by their intelligence and their scientific minds.”
Two other finalists included second place winner Minula Weerasekera from Beaverton, Oregon who developed a solution for storing energy longer and third-place winner is William Tan from Scarsdale, New York who developed an AI smart artificial reef.
About PestiSCAND
Sirish’s journey to winning the award came from watching his mother washing vegetables and fruits and cautioning him to always do so, reported Interesting Engineering. He wondered whether washing actually made a difference.
Since 70 percent of produce in the US has pesticide residues that are linked to illnesses like cancer and Alzheimers’s, its very important to know if the fruits and vegetables are safe to eat. That’s what PestiSCAND is designed to do.
The device works by shining light on the surface of the produce and measuring the wavelengths that bounce back. Sirish tested the device on more than 12,000 food samples including strawberries, apples, tomatoes, and spinach.
PestiSCAND uses a sensor and AI-based processor to achieve an accuracy of over 85 percent. Sirish aims on making this technology widely accessible so that consumers will be able to make safe food choices. But he still believes you should wash your produce anyway. He plans to use the $25,000 prize from the competition to help fund his educational goal of attending MIT.
