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America has a new “Top Young Scientist.”
Kevin Tang, an eighth grade student at Cedarlane Academy in Hacienda Heights, California, was crowned the winner of the 2025 Young Scientist Challenge on Oct. 14 at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. This competition is designed for middle school students in grades 5 to 8 and organized by 3M in partnership with Discovery Education.
The assignment was simple: Identify an everyday problem and come up with a workable solution.
Nearly a dozen finalists from across the country participated in the challenge, creating a unique project with assistance from a 3M-afiliated mentor over the summer, according to the company’s news release.
What was this year’s winning project?
With help from mentor Mark Gilbertson, a 3M senior robotics and automation engineer, Tang created “FallGuard,” a fall detection system that can “accelerate emergency responses to falls among older adults at home, even in the dark.”
With an algorithm that analyzes video input, Tang’s device identifies falls and alerts loved ones using a smartphone app. FallGuard can also detect irregular walking movements, which could be a symptom of a stroke.
Tang’s “new solution advances current offerings on the market through the ability to capture imagery at night and provide around-the-clock monitoring,” 3M said in an Oct. 14 statement.
In addition to the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” and corresponding trophy, Tang will receive $25,000 and a “unique destination trip.”
However, many of the participants go on to start their own companies after the challenge, with some reaching “30 under 30” level fame, Torie Clarke, 3M’s EVP and chief public affairs officer, previously told USA TODAY.
3M’s ‘Young Scientist’ finalists, their projects
While Tang may have taken the competition’s top prize, 3M and Discovery Education also recognized first runner-up Amaira Srivastava of Gilbert, Arizona, and second runner-up Anirudh Rao of Lone Tree, Colorado, at the awards ceremony.
All 10 of 3M’s “Young Scientist” finalists, including the Top 3, who formed part of this summer’s mentorship program cohort, also earned a $1,000 cash prize for their participation.
Here’s a look at the full list of 3M’s “Young Scientist” finalists:
- Amaira Srivastava – Created FlavoPeel Cups, biodegradable cups infused with fruit peels to fight plastic waste, reduce food waste, and deliver natural nutrients through water. Srivastava worked with her mentor, Rohit Gupta, a product development specialist in M3’s Automotive and Aerospace Division.
- Anirudh Rao – Created a moisture-powered nano-generator, which was developed to provide “clean, affordable electricity for health and environmental sensors in areas without reliable access to power.” Rao worked with his mentor, Aditya Banerji, a research specialist with 3M.
- Shrey Arora – Arora created FreshMate, a smart fridge device that tracks food expiration dates to help reduce waste and save money. Arora worked with his mentor, Lalitha Ganapatibhotla, an advanced product development specialist with 3M.
- Divyam Desai – Developed a smart irrigation system, which monitors the moisture level in soil around a building’s foundation and delivers water to each zone as needed. The system’s purpose is to prevent structural tilt and conserve water in clay-rich areas. Desai worked with his mentor, Caitlin Race, a research specialist with 3M.
- Kiyara Gunawardena – Gunawardena developed Continuous Observation and Research for Aquatic Life (CORAL), a low-cost underwater robot that captures water data and 360-degree footage, helping scientists “monitor ocean health without needing divers.” Gunawardena worked with her mentor Ann Gilman, an advanced research specialist with 3M.
- Isha Marla – Marla developed AlginaFAB, a fabric made from seaweed and other natural materials designed to replicate the “strength and flexibility of traditional textiles while also breaking down easily in the environment.” Marla worked with her mentor, Rodrigo Marmol, a global portfolio manager with 3M.
- Reanna Bhuyan Patel – Patel created Infini-TE, a device that captures “versatile electricity from surrounding heat using thermoelectric principles.” The device provides communities “afflicted by energy waste” with an accessible energy source, subsequently reducing dependency on nonrenewable resources. Patel worked with her mentor, Stephanie Owen, an expanded beam optics laboratory manager and advanced product development specialist with 3M.
- Sheyna Patel – Patel developed a hydrogel that captures and breaks down microplastics with an efficiency of over 93%. The gel is nontoxic and can be used as a tool to help protect aquatic ecosystems. Patel worked 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 “help farmers grow crops in increasingly arid regions of the American Midwest and West.” Sarkar worked with his mentor, Timothy Hebrink, a senior staff scientist with 3M Corporate Research Lab.
What is 3M’s ‘Young Scientist Challenge’?
Middle school students from across the country enter for a chance to compete and later win 3M’s “Young Scientist Challenge,” the nation’s top-tiered middle school science competition.
According to a 3M news release, the challenge tasks the nation’s best and brightest with developing an original, unique solution to an everyday problem.
Students can submit proposals under any of the following categories: robotics, home improvement, automotive, safety, AR/VR and climate technology.
“At 3M, we are all about finding amazing people who bring innovation and creativity to producing products that really change lives, tackling hard problems and changing and improving people’s lives,” Clarke said. “This competition is the epitome of it.”
How do you enter the challenge?
To enter the challenge for next year, middle school students must submit a short presentation about an everyday problem and their proposed solution. Video entries should be between one and two minutes long.
According to 3M, a panel of experts then judges the entry based on the following metrics:
- Creativity
- Scientific knowledge
- Persuasiveness and effective communication
- Overall presentation
Students interested in participating in this year’s “Young Scientist Challenge” had from Jan. 8 to May 1 to submit their video entries. The “Top 10 finalists” were contacted in early June, while all State Merit Winners were contacted in mid-June.
Julia is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers scientific studies and trending news. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
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Grace Maliska
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