SELECT SECTION
Broadcom MASTERS
For the first time in three years, we hosted the Broadcom MASTERS in person, welcoming 30 innovative middle school students from across the United States to Washington, D.C. for a week of STEM exploration and team-based challenges. The finalists were chosen from a pool of 1,807 students from 47 states and three territories (Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The finalists created board games using principles of quantum physics, designed devices with a goal of detecting early signs of Parkinson’s disease and learned how biomimicry can be a cornerstone of engineering innovation.
Thomas Aldous of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, won the top $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize for his collaborative spirit, as well as his research project, the design and construction of a remote-controlled robotic hand. Rory Hu of San Jose, California, won the $10,000 DoD STEM Talent Award; Jeanelle Dao of San Jose, California, won the $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention; Elizabeth Shen of Cary, North Carolina, won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation; and Mina Fedor of Berkeley, California, won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement.
After more than 10 years, the 2022 competition marked the end of the Broadcom Foundation’s title sponsorship of the Society’s middle school competition. Over the past dozen years, the program has grown into the nation’s premier STEM competition for middle school students, and we are grateful for their partnership and shared commitment to inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders. Beginning in 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will take over as title sponsor of the competition, which will be known as the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.
TOP MOMENTS
Broadcom MASTERS 2022 Highlights
From the excitement of being in person, to immersive STEM challenges, to the awards ceremony, relive some of the top moments from the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS competition in our highlights video.
TOP WINNERS
Thomas Aldous
Samueli Foundation Prize
Thomas Aldous won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize for designing a remote-controlled robotic hand, as well as for his leadership, collaboration and critical thinking skills.
Rory Hu
DoD STEM Talent Award
Rory Hu won the $10,000 DoD STEM Talent Award for her research on honeybees that suggests that feeding bees tea polyphenols and caffeine could boost their ability to learn and remember.
Elizabeth Shen
Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation
Elizabeth Shen won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation for her project— designing a system to better manage the wear on a computer’s memory— inspired by the growth pattern of certain flower petals.
Jeanelle Dao
Lemelson Award for Invention
Jenelle Dao won the $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention for her foot-controlled welcome mat that wirelessly unlocks a door when the user enters the correct code. This innovation can help people with arthritis and other hand problems become more self-sufficient.
Mina Fedor
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award
Mina Fedor won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement for her project that used electroencephalography to measure certain types of brain activity as people undertook active and passive learning tasks.
Broadcom MASTERS International
Broadcom MASTERS International, a companion program to the domestic Broadcom MASTERS competition, provided a unique opportunity for select middle school students from around the world to observe the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2022, Broadcom MASTERS International welcomed 20 middle school students from 15 countries, regions and territories for a week of fun and engaging hands-on science and engineering activities.
Sights and Scenes
Here are some more photos from the Broadcom MASTERS first in-person finals week since 2019.
SOCIETY BLOG
Four Broadcom MASTERS alumni who spent their summers immersed in STEM
See how some recent Broadcom MASTERS alumni spent their summers pursuing their research interests at immersive STEM camps around the country.
Broadcom MASTERS tackle quantum physics and Parkinson’s disease at George Mason University
A day of team challenges at George Mason University allowed the finalists to get creative and apply their critical thinking skills to design a board game incorporating the principles of quantum physics and to design a device to detect tremors in persons with Parkinson’s disease.
Sharing an excitement for research and innovation at the Broadcom MASTERS Project Showcase
Take a look back at some highlights from the first in-person Broadcom MASTERS Science and Engineering Project Showcase in three years.
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC
JUNIOR INNOVATORS CHALLENGE
The Society announced that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will become the new title sponsor of the Society’s middle school STEM competition, the Junior Innovators Challenge, in 2023. Thermo Fisher will be only the third title sponsor in the competition’s 25-year history. Read more about this exciting new partnership on the Society’s blog.
Why I Give
“As the world leader in serving science, Thermo Fisher is committed to nurturing generations of STEM professionals that reflect our society and embracing their diverse perspectives to fuel innovation, advance science and solve the world’s most complex problems. Through the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, we have an exceptional opportunity to amplify the impact of an organization dedicated to expanding scientific literacy, access to STEM education and scientific research for more than a century. We proudly partner with Society for Science to celebrate and advance STEM learning at a critical time in students’ development—increasing their potential to choose STEM careers and contribute to world-changing innovations.”
Paul G. Parker
Senior Vice President, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific
