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:…
The top five Thermo Fisher JIC winners pose onstage with their awards.
The top winners of the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. Lisa Fryklund Photography/Licensed by Society for Science

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