14-year-old inventor from California named ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’

[Anonymous]

So this is just a participation trophy? Okay.

We're not so big on awarding merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So this is just a participation trophy? Okay.

We're not so big on awarding merit.

How is it a participation trophy? Winning is not at all easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So this is just a participation trophy? Okay.

We're not so big on awarding merit.

How is it a participation trophy? Winning is not at all easy.

I know! Many parents invest long hours into these projects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So this is just a participation trophy? Okay.

We're not so big on awarding merit.

How is it a participation trophy? Winning is not at all easy.

I know! Many parents invest long hours into these projects.

It's not nice to call kids 'projects'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So this is just a participation trophy? Okay.

We're not so big on awarding merit.

How is it a participation trophy? Winning is not at all easy.

I know! Many parents invest long hours into these projects.

I know I remember a local kid who won one of these contests a few years ago. It was in the father's area of research at NIH. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 14-year-old student who invented a device that detects and treats mid-ear infections in children was awarded this year’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge grand prize.

Leanne Fan, an eighth grader from San Diego, California, developed the low-cost wearable device by using machine learning technology and blue light therapy.

Fan named them “Finsen Headphones” after Niels Finsen, the Nobel Prize recipient who discovered that ultraviolet light can help treat bacterial infections.

“Every year over 10 percent of the world's population experience a mid-ear infection, most of which are children or underprivileged people,” Fan explained in her submission entry to the renowned science competition. “Furthermore, not everyone has access to a doctor which makes it difficult to diagnose and treat a mid-ear infection. My solution to this mid-ear infection problem is to create a low-cost device that can both detect and treat a mid-ear infection.”

In addition to potentially preventing up to 60 percent of hearing loss in children, Fan’s Finsen Headphones can also play music. Fan said she likes to listen to K-pop group BTS on her smart headphones.

Last month, Fan unveiled her final presentation at the 3M headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she competed against eight other finalists.

Along with the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” Fan won a $25,000 cash prize and a special destination trip. According to Fan, she plans to use some of the prize money to process the patent application for her invention.

The second prize was awarded to Harini Venkatesh from New Hampshire, who invented a cost-efficient solution that calculates myopic power quickly and accurately in patients. Meanwhile, Shanza Sami from Iowa came in third for developing a five-stage air pollution filtration device. Each of them received a $1,000 prize and a special destination trip.

https://news.yahoo.com/14-old-inventor-california-named-233833373.html

So how often do you think these inventions are these the work of their parents?

Have to admit that my first thought was what do her parents do for a living. And I think that this is an important aspect to consider prior to making awards that are supposed to be the work product of the young inventor student in order to assure fairness in the competition.

Anyone know anything about her parents' backgrounds ?

who cares? Why is that so important? Does anyone question the background of a white girl getting a Rhodes Scholar or some writing award? FFS. You people and your racism against Asian Americans.

I'm Asian American and I always look at the background of winners like this no matter the ethnicity. Gone are the days when some scrappy kids can win Westinghouse using a science experiment done at their school (j/k those days never existed, some background help was always needed.)

As a poorer Asian growing up, it was hard to see some of these "accomplished" young scientist (not throwing shade on this particular young woman.) I'd look at my truly self made affair and wonder why I couldn't be smarter. In college, I learned the backgrounds of some of these folks and wised up that many of them had a leg up on these sorts of competitions. It was freeing for me. I made sure my kids were aware of this as they are growing up. They need to run their own race with their own circumstances.