2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Finalists
Society for Science and Thermo Fisher Scientific are proud to announce the 30 finalists in the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge — the nation’s premier STEM research competition for middle school students. The finalists will travel to Washington, DC from October 24 – 29 to participate in the Finals Week of the competition. Each student will be judged on both their science research projects as well as their demonstration of collaboration and critical thinking skills during team challenges, emphasizing the importance and value of teamwork in STEM fields.
All finalists receive a $500 cash award and will compete for over $100,000 in prizes.
View the Press Release
Meet the 2025 Finalists!
Rajsi Choudhary
8th Grade, Eastern Middle School
Riverside, CT
Fabrication of a Biodegradable, Nutrient-Rich, Orange Peel-Loaded Hydrogel for Thermally-Programmed Release of Water To Maintain Soil Moisture
Seungah Chung
8th Grade, Beverly Vista Middle School
Beverly Hills, CA
Investigating Spatial Memory Formation in Harvester Ants Through Operant Conditioning
Zeynep Demirbas
8th Grade, Transit Middle School
East Amherst, NY
Evaluating the Reliability of Large Language Models for Stress Detection
Archishman Dey
8th Grade, Solon Middle School
Solon, OH
How Do Various PM2.5 Pollutants Affect Indoor Air Pollution?
Peter Fernandez Dulay
8th Grade, Julia Landon College Preparatory and Leadership Development School
Jacksonville, FL
Career Bias in AI Data
Alice Feng
7th Grade, Granite Ridge Intermediate School
Fresno, CA
Transforming Waste Into Value: The Impact of Grape Pomace Variety and Extraction Parameters on Grape Seed Oil Yield and Physicochemical Properties
Arshiya Ghosh
7th Grade, Starkey Ranch K-8 School
Odessa, FL
An Innovative Approach To Reduce Biofilm Formation & Progression: Evaluating the Impact of Antimicrobial Compounds on Thioredoxin-A in Biofilm for Colorectal Cancer Treatment
Lia Camil Gonzalez
8th Grade, Colegio Rosa-Bell
Guaynabo, PR
Evaluating the Effect of Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip) as an Ant Repellent To Protect Beehives
Camila Isabel Gonzalez-Thompson
8th Grade, Caribbean School
Ponce, PR
Understanding IgG and IgM Seroprevalence of Dengue Virus in Southern Puerto Rico: A Key Step To Reduce Disease Burden
Arya Hirsave
7th Grade, Canyon Vista Middle School
Austin, TX
Micro’fat’ories: Increasing Microalgal Biomass and Lipids for Biofuel Production
Matthew Kuo
8th Grade, Renner Middle School
Plano, TX
Factors Affecting Fuel Cell Energy Efficiency
Toby Lam
7th Grade, Long-View Micro School
Austin, TX
The Effect of Nintendo’s NES Tetris Theme Music and 28 Hertz High Beta-Frequency Binaural Beats on a 233 Hertz Carrier on Attention Span
Paola Sofia Lumbreras
8th Grade, Acton Middle School
Granbury, TX
Investigating Natural Antioxidants as Protective Agents Against Alcohol and Nicotine-Induced Fetal Developmental Abnormalities
Luca McGill
8th Grade, Emily Gray Junior High School
Tucson, AZ
ALTO-CO₂: Low-Cost Drone-Based Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Exploring CO₂ Levels Across Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas in Southern Arizona
Pranshi Mehta
7th Grade, Canyon Vista Middle School
Austin, TX
Machine Learning-Mediated Computational Modeling of FK506-Binding Protein 12 (FKBP12)-Enhanced CAR T-Cell Therapy for Targeted Glioblastoma Treatment
Akhil Nagori
8th Grade, Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Santa Clara, CA
Visionary: AI Glasses for Real-Time Text-to-Audio Transcription To Help Visually Impaired Students
Yookta Pandit
8th Grade, The Quarry Lane School
Dublin, CA
Reading the Brain: Using MRIs for Early Detection of Dyslexia
Owen Thomas McGeeney Park
7th Grade, Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Louisville, KY
A Breakthrough in Low-Voltage Regolith Mitigation
Caden Terence Pohlkamp
7th Grade, Brookside Intermediate School
Friendswood, TX
Is More Green Better? Does Littoral Vegetation Enhance Habitat Suitability of Local Retention Ponds?
Brady Ryan Sage
8th Grade, Saint Thomas More Middle School
Rapid City, SD
Optimizing Driver Flight Distance and Accuracy
Simone Smith
8th Grade, Saint Cyril of Alexandria School
Tucson, AZ
Catching Deadly Butterflies
Sam Daniel Solhpour
8th Grade, Corona Del Mar Middle School
Newport Beach, CA
Forecasting Renewable Energy Production Based on Historical Weather Data in California: Predictive Analysis Using Regression Modeling
Evann Sun
8th Grade, Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Santa Clara, CA
Visionary: AI Glasses for Real-Time Text-to-Audio Transcription To Help Visually Impaired Students
Anya Zahira Teron Villodas
8th Grade, Colegio Rosa-Bell
Guaynabo, PR
Evaluating the Effect of Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip) as an Ant Repellent To Protect Beehives
Sanhita Tummala
8th Grade, George S. Mickelson Middle School
Brookings, SD
A Novel Self-Sustainable Kit To Combat Rural Vitamin A Deficiency During Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Bhavya Uppalapati
7th Grade, Rachel Carson Middle School
Herndon, VA
RiFT: A Low-Cost, Rice Flour-Derived Trojan Horse Nanocarrier System for the Eradication of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Siddharth Sudharshan Vazhkudai
7th Grade, Running Brushy Middle School
Cedar Park, TX
AIM-BASE: AI-Integrated Model To Predict the Energy Consumption of Extra-Terrestrial Colonies
Christine Wang
7th Grade, The Harker School – Middle School
San Jose, CA
Peel To Purify: An Innovative Fruit Waste-Based Solution for Contaminated Water Treatment
Miles Wu
8th Grade, Hunter College High School
New York, NY
Optimizing the Strength-to-Weight Ratio of Miura-Ori Patterns
Lucas Shengwen Yen
8th Grade, Juan Cabrillo Middle School
Santa Clara, CA
Visionary: AI Glasses for Real-Time Text-to-Audio Transcription To Help Visually Impaired Students