Five Questions with Peter Fernández Dulay, Winner of the 2025 $10,000 DoW STEM Talent Award

At the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC), teen scientist, Peter Fernández Dulay of Jacksonville, Florida, received the $10,000 DoW STEM Talent Award. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates excellence in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, along with the leadership and technical skills necessary to excel in the 21st-century STEM workforce and help build a better community for tomorrow.

In his project, Peter investigated whether artificial intelligence image-generation platforms perpetuate stereotypes about scientists. By asking four AI image generators to create images of five different types of scientists, he found that the systems often reinforced gender stereotypes and male bias in science, highlighting how AI tools can reflect limitations and biases in the data they learn from.

We caught up with Peter to learn more about his experience at Finals Week, the friendships he formed and his advice for future applicants.

During Finals Week in Washington, D.C., when did you feel most like yourself, not just as a young scientist, but as a person?

For me, being part of a community with shared interests, collaborating, sharing curiosity with like-minded peers from throughout the nation and seeing that same innate curiosity in others made me feel most like myself.

The simple joy of having fun, of returning to childhood memories of playing with Legos and building contraptions with rubber bands, brings out my true self. I think the challenges we completed during Finals Week reignited that sense of excitement.

If I had to point to one specific moment, it would be during the third team challenge, when my group used Play-Doh to secure wooden blocks while transporting a ball from one side of our table to another team’s. Feeling that excitement and unlocking my curious nature during the challenges made me feel completely like myself.

What’s something another finalist said or did that has stuck with you? Or is there something you learned from a fellow finalist that you’d like to share?

One finalist who had a big impact on me was Miles Wu.

From the first day, Miles always had a huge smile on his face. Even before I got to know him, he struck me as approachable and kind. Once we became friends, I realized my instincts were correct.

The first time I really talked with him was during presentation day. Before the judges arrived, I walked around the room looking at projects and talking with other finalists. When I stopped at Miles’s project, he spoke with enthusiasm and conviction about his work.

Miles taught me the value of maintaining an optimistic mindset and simply “going with the flow.” He reminded me that nobody lacks the qualifications to be a Thermo Fisher JIC finalist.

Later, backstage during the awards ceremony, everyone was eagerly waiting to hear who had won the ASCEND Award. Akhil, Evan, Camila and I were all making guesses. When it was my turn, Miles’ smiling face immediately came to mind.

“I bet it’s Miles,” I said.

And it was.

Miles truly embodies the passion, enthusiasm and kindness that defined the 2025 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists.

If you had unlimited time and resources, how would you take your idea further or in a completely new direction?

I would expand Generations AI into a larger initiative focused on accessible AI education across generations.

Right now, Generations AI is still developing as a community-centered project designed to help people of different ages learn about AI in practical, accessible and ethical ways. The goal is to make AI feel less intimidating and more participatory, allowing families and communities to explore it together.

With more resources, I would expand it into a network of community workshops, multilingual digital resources and collaborative spaces where people could use AI not only to learn about technology, but also to imagine solutions to real-world challenges.

At its core, the project is about AI for good: widening access and helping more people feel empowered to shape the future. I would also love to create my own AI model designed to be representative of the world’s population and less susceptible to bias.

What’s a question you wish adults asked you more often about your research, or about being a young scientist?

I wish adults asked young scientists more often about what they’re curious about.

Curiosity is the starting point for every project. Students need opportunities to explore their questions and receive feedback that helps them develop their ideas further.

I think what students my age need most is reassurance that their questions have a place in the scientific community when pursued with rigor and passion. Simple words of encouragement can become the motors that drive young scientists to push beyond the limits of their imagination.

More than anything, I wish adults asked about the story behind the poster board and the interests that inspired the research. Those conversations often reveal the passion that fuels the science.

Before you applied, what did you think the competition would be like, and what surprised you once you got there?

Last year was my first time competing in a science fair, and I always thought of myself as the underdog.

I was in shock when I received the call announcing that I had been selected as a Thermo Fisher JIC finalist. Before arriving in Washington, D.C., I imagined the competition would be intense. The best comparison I can think of is American Ninja Warrior.

I expected rigorous presentations, ruthless competitors and everyone racing toward the equivalent of the red buzzer: the awards.

What I found instead was a compassionate and welcoming community.

I formed lasting friendships with finalists from across the country, and we still keep in touch through our Thermo Fisher group chat. The experience completely changed my perception of the STEM community. What I once imagined as an elite and closed-off group turned out to be a vibrant community of curious, supportive and like-minded people.

I hope our paths cross again someday, whether at ISEF or later in our careers.

What would you say to a student who’s unsure if their project is “good enough” to apply?

To any student who is passionate about science, I would say this: You do not have to be a genius, have extensive STEM experience or conduct experiments in a professional laboratory. Curiosity begins at home.

You can use the materials available to you and still accomplish incredible things. Having access to advanced equipment is not a requirement for success. Passion, curiosity and courage (because presenting can be intimidating) are what truly drive innovation.

I don’t come from a STEM background. Last year was my first time competing in a science fair. Through that experience, I learned what the STEM community truly represents.

The questions I have at home can be welcomed and explored through STEM.

Above all, I would share this advice: If I can do it, you can do it too.

Learn more about Peter’s award-winning research exploring bias in artificial intelligence image-generation systems and how technology can shape perceptions of who belongs in science: https://www.societyforscience.org/jic/2025-student-finalists/peter-fernandez-dulay/

Applications for the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge are open now. Apply here: https://thermofisherjic.smapply.org/. Applications close June 10, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET.