Kids with Brilliant Ideas for a Brighter Future, Part 2 of 2

First is Sirish Subash, a 14-year-old inventor from Georgia, USA, who was named “America’s Top Young Scientist” at the prestigious 3M Young Scientist Challenge of 2024. Sirish won the award, along with US$25,000, for his invention called the “Pestiscand,” a hand-held device that uses AI and spectrophotometry to detect pesticide residues on produce. Sirish’s Pestiscand already has an accuracy rate of 85% for detecting pesticide residues on produce. He plans to refine the device and then bring it to market at a price of around $20, enabling consumers to have an affordable, easy-to-use tool to help them make safer food choices.

Grace won the “Innovator Award,” along with US$75,000, because of the significant improvements she made to an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), the essential component in biomedical implants. “My project is important because it can be used to detect certain analytes like glucose for diabetics, as well as neurons for epileptic patients or other neurological disorders. And it can also be used for treatment, like stimulating heartbeats, in the chance of organ failure.”

Justin and Victoria’s project began when they visited a local water treatment plant and discovered that the facility had no way to remove microplastic particles. Determined to make a difference, they began searching for a safe, inexpensive filtering method. They eventually developed a simple device, no bigger than a pen, that uses ultrasound waves to push the particles away from the water’s outflow. Their innovative device can remove up to 94% of the suspended microplastic particles from water in a single pass.

In 2023, Shanya won the prestigious Thermo Fischer Scientific ASCEND (Aspiring Scientists Culivating Exciting New Discoveries) Award, along with US$25,000 at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovator’s Challenge. Her invention is a new fire detection system that is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than conventional smoke detectors.

In today’s world, a growing number of exceptionally talented kids are being born. Our Most Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) tells us that, as more people shift to the compassionate, noble vegan lifestyle, more and more remarkable children will come to Earth. “If our world is healed and becomes more benevolent, then celestial beings of the higher heavens, or those with exceptional talents, will have more opportunities to come down to visit us, to live with us in our daily life. […] Therefore, we will see more and more talented people, not just that limited number only. Talented people are in all fields, you’ve seen them clearly in the field of science, mechanics or space.”