15-year-old Designs Low-Cost Device to Monitor Airborne Bacteria in the Environment; Wins $25,000 Top Award at the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge

Young innovators awarded more than $100,000 for research on dementia-related proteins, alternatives to agricultural plastics and wildfire prevention Key Takeaways:…
2026: The top five Thermo Fisher JIC winners pose onstage with their awards.
Lisa Fryklund Photography/Licensed by Society for Science

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Students visit the BUGMobile at Regeneron ISEF
Two Regeneron STS finalists looking on a tablet at something fascinating.
Eric Sporkin, an alumnus of the 2007 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), a program of Society for Science, and a software engineer at Jane Street, a quantitative trading firm.
A scientist presents in front of a classroom full of students
2025 Advocate Grants announcement - teacher Karen Maninang with students at Harvest Preparatory Academy in Yuma, AZ
A young male is wearing a red tie and posing next to his project board.
Three women posed for a photo wearing a black, red and cupcake dress.
Wyoming teachers posed for a photo at the Jackson Hole Children’s Museum.
Group of volunteers picking up plastic on sandy beach.
Group photo showing the three 2024-25 Science News Learning Ambassadors.