Thermo Fisher Scientific
Junior Innovators Challenge
2025 Media Kit

The Thermo Fisher JIC, a program of Society for Science, reaches 60,000 middle school students nationwide, inspiring them to pursue their STEM interests and explore exciting college and career paths. The 30 finalists, who were selected from nearly 2,000 applicants representing 48 states, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico; are counted among the nation’s brightest students, with several, including Miles Wu, collectively receiving more than $100,000 at an award ceremony in Washington, D.C. Winners were chosen by a panel of distinguished scientists, engineers and educators.

The winners of the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
Lisa Fryklund/Licensed by Society for Science

Photos Credits

Photos with “LF” or no initials should be credited as follows: Courtesy of Lisa Fryklund/Licensed by Society for Science

Photos with a “JY” in the file name should be credited as follows: Jessica Yurinko Photography/Licensed by Society for Science

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Thermo Fisher JIC 2025 Top Award Winners

Miles Wu

Miles Wu, $25,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND Award

Miles Wu, 14, from New York City, won the $25,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND Award (Aspiring Scientists Cultivating Exciting New Discoveries) Award, the top prize in the competition. Exploring the power of origami-inspired engineering, Miles tested 54 variations of the Miura-ori fold, a geometric pattern that packs flat and unfolds in one smooth motion. His research revealed that designs with smaller panels and steeper angles weren’t just stronger, they were remarkably resilient. Using dumbbells, he discovered they could support more than 9,000 times their own weight. Miles hopes to apply these insights to develop strong, lightweight shelters that can be rapidly deployed in areas affected by natural disasters.

Akhil Nagori, $10,000 Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award

Akhil Nagori, 15, from Santa Clara, California, won the $10,000 Broadcom Coding with CommitmentTM Award for combining STEM learning with coding to solve a community problem they care about that aligns with the 17 Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations. For his project, Akhil worked as part of a team to develop an inexpensive pair of glasses that can translate text to speech, to help visually impaired students have wide access to reading materials.

Peter Dulay

Peter Fernández Dulay, $10,000 DoD STEM Talent Award

Peter Fernández Dulay, 15 from Jacksonville, Florida, won the $10,000 DoD STEM Talent Award for demonstrating excellence in science, technology, engineering or math; along with the leadership and technical skills necessary to excel in the 21st Century STEM workforce and build a better community for tomorrow. In his project, Peter had four image-generating AI platforms make images of five different types of scientists and found that because the AI tools learned from limited data, the tools perpetuated stereotypes about male bias in science.

Evann Sun, $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention

Evann Sun, 14, from Santa Clara, California, won the $10,000 Lemelson Foundation Award for Invention, awarded by The Lemelson Foundation to a young inventor creating promising product-based solutions to real-world problems. Evann worked as part of a team to develop a pair of glasses that can translate text to speech, to help visually impaired students have wide access to reading materials.

Camila Isabel Gonzalez-Thompson

Camila Isabel Gonzalez-Thompson, $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Award for Health Advancement

Camila Isabel Gonzalez-Thompson, 14, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, which recognizes the student whose work and performance shows the most promise in health-related fields and demonstrates an understanding of the many social factors that affect health. Camila examined blood samples from Puerto Ricans for antibodies to dengue virus, and showed that the virus is endemic to Puerto Rico, helping public health officials target interventions.

Interview Maya Ajmera,
President & CEO of Society for Science

We invite you to interview the President & CEO of Society for Science, Maya Ajmera, to learn more about the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge and this year’s winners.

Please email apaul@societyforscience.org for assistance.

  • Maya headshot
  • About Maya
  • Quote: “Miles’ remarkable blend of scientific creativity, leadership and collaboration highlights the type of talent Society for Science is proud to support,” said Maya Ajmera, President & CEO, Society for Science and Executive Publisher, Science News. “I look forward to seeing the innovative ideas he will contribute in the future.”
President & CEO of the Society for Science, Maya Ajmera
Photo courtesy of Society for Science

Interview Meron Mathias,
Thermo Fisher Scientific Vice President,
Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability

We invite you to interview Meron Mathias to learn more about the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge and this year’s winners.

Meron Mathias leads corporate social responsibility and sustainability for Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science. Since 2020, she has shaped the company’s responsible business and impact reporting efforts. Previously, Meron worked in international development advancing women’s empowerment, education access and water security around the world.

Please email  annalisa.alpaugh@thermofisher.com for assistance.

Meron Mathias leads corporate social responsibility (CSR) for Thermo Fisher Scientific