Sirish͏͏ Subash,͏͏ a͏͏ 9th͏͏ grader͏͏ from͏͏ Gwinnett͏͏ School͏͏ of͏͏ Mathematics,͏͏ Science,͏͏ and͏͏ Technology͏͏ in͏͏ Snellville,͏͏ Georgia,͏͏ US, has͏͏ been͏͏ named͏͏ the͏͏ winner͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ 2024͏͏ 3M͏͏ Young͏͏ Scientist͏͏ Challenge.͏͏ This͏͏ competition͏͏ is͏͏ recognized͏͏ as͏͏ America’s top͏͏ middle͏͏ school͏͏ science͏͏ contest,͏͏ and͏͏ Sirish͏͏ stood͏͏ out͏͏ with͏͏ his͏͏ innovative͏͏ project,͏͏ an͏͏ AI-powered͏͏ handheld͏͏ pesticide͏͏ detector.͏͏ Sirish͏͏ has͏͏ also͏͏ been͏͏ inducted͏͏ into͏͏ the͏͏ Asia͏͏ Book͏͏ of͏͏ Records͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ India͏͏ Book͏͏ of͏͏ Records͏͏ for͏͏ his͏͏ book͏͏ on͏͏ climate͏͏ change͏͏ titled͏͏ ‘Carbon͏͏ Block͏͏ Puzzle‘.͏͏ Sirish’s͏͏ father͏͏ Subhash͏͏ Arumugam,͏͏ who͏͏ works͏͏ for͏͏ a͏͏ software͏͏ company͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ US͏͏ state͏͏ of͏͏ Georgia,͏͏ had͏͏ immigrated͏͏ from͏͏ Tamil͏͏ Nadu,͏͏ India͏͏ to͏͏ the͏͏ United͏͏ States͏͏ with͏͏ his͏͏ family.
The Project
Sirish’s͏͏ project,͏͏ Pestiscand,͏͏ is͏͏ a͏͏ device͏͏ designed͏͏ to͏͏ detect͏͏ pesticide͏͏ residues͏͏ on͏͏ fruits͏͏ and͏͏ vegetables͏͏ without͏͏ causing͏͏ any͏͏ damage.͏͏ Using͏͏ spectrophotometry,͏͏ Pestiscand͏͏ measures͏͏ how͏͏ different͏͏ wavelengths͏͏ of͏͏ light͏͏ reflect͏͏ off͏͏ the͏͏ surfaces͏͏ of͏͏ produce.͏͏ A͏͏ machine͏͏ learning͏͏ model͏͏ then͏͏ analyzes͏͏ this͏͏ data͏͏ to͏͏ identify͏͏ the͏͏ presence͏͏ of͏͏ pesticides.͏͏ During͏͏ testing,͏͏ Pestiscand͏͏ achieved͏͏ over͏͏ 85%͏͏ accuracy͏͏ in͏͏ detecting͏͏ pesticide͏͏ residues͏͏ on͏͏ spinach͏͏ and͏͏ tomatoes.
The Competition
Over͏͏ the͏͏ past͏͏ four͏͏ months,͏͏ Sirish͏͏ competed͏͏ against͏͏ nine͏͏ other͏͏ finalists,͏͏ showcasing͏͏ his͏͏ ingenuity͏͏ and͏͏ dedication.͏͏ The͏͏ final͏͏ events͏͏ were͏͏ held͏͏ at͏͏ 3M’s͏͏ global͏͏ headquarters͏͏ in͏͏ St.͏͏ Paul,͏͏ Minnesota,͏͏ on͏͏ October͏͏ 14͏͏ and͏͏ 15.͏͏ Finalists͏͏ were͏͏ evaluated͏͏ on͏͏ their͏͏ creativity,͏͏ application͏͏ of͏͏ STEM͏͏ principles,͏͏ research͏͏ depth,͏͏ presentation͏͏ skills,͏͏ and͏͏ ability͏͏ to͏͏ inspire͏͏ others.
Mentorship͏͏
One͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ key͏͏ aspects͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ 3M͏͏ Young͏͏ Scientist͏͏ Challenge͏͏ is͏͏ the͏͏ mentorship͏͏ provided͏͏ to͏͏ the͏͏ finalists.͏͏ Sirish͏͏ was͏͏ paired͏͏ with͏͏ Aditya͏͏ Banerji,͏͏ a͏͏ Senior͏͏ Research͏͏ Engineer͏͏ at͏͏ 3M’s͏͏ Corporate͏͏ Research͏͏ Process͏͏ Laboratory.͏͏ This͏͏ mentorship͏͏ helped͏͏ Sirish͏͏ transform͏͏ his͏͏ idea͏͏ from͏͏ a͏͏ concept͏͏ into͏͏ a͏͏ functional͏͏ prototype,͏͏ highlighting͏͏ the͏͏ importance͏͏ of͏͏ guidance͏͏ in͏͏ young͏͏ scientists’͏͏ development.
Rewards
As͏͏ the͏͏ grand͏͏ prize͏͏ winner,͏͏ Sirish͏͏ received͏͏ a͏͏ $25,000͏͏ cash͏͏ prize͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ title͏͏ of͏͏ “America’s͏͏ Top͏͏ Young͏͏ Scientist.“͏͏ In͏͏ addition͏͏ to͏͏ Sirish’s͏͏ achievement,͏͏ Minula͏͏ Weerasekera͏͏ from͏͏ Beaverton,͏͏ Oregon,͏͏ took͏͏ second͏͏ place͏͏ with͏͏ a͏͏ project͏͏ on͏͏ energy͏͏ storage͏͏ using͏͏ organic͏͏ compounds,͏͏ and͏͏ William͏͏ Tan͏͏ from͏͏ Scarsdale,͏͏ New͏͏ York,͏͏ secured͏͏ third͏͏ place͏͏ with͏͏ his͏͏ AI͏͏ Smart͏͏ Artificial͏͏ Reef͏͏ designed͏͏ to͏͏ support͏͏ marine͏͏ life.
