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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Alvaro Villafuerte poses with his TempWatch, a wearable device which can detect risks of heat-related illnesses for its wearer.
Eva Ng, ISEF alumna who currently works at the Society's middle school competition sponsor, Thermo Fisher Scientific
A portrait of Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford
Thirty Exceptional Young Scientists Named Finalists in Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge - September 2023
Thermo Fisher Junior Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Congratulations 2023 Top 300 banner
2023-24 Advocates photo grid
Frank Wilczek, theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate