HONOLULU (KHON2) — Six Hawaiʻi middle schoolers were selected for the top 300 in a nationwide STEM competition.
The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge is a prestigious competition set out to find the nation’s STEM stars. Young scientists, engineers and innovators step up to the challenge of creating solutions rooted in real-world issues.
Nearly 2,000 students applied to compete this year. Among these students, the top 300 were selected to move on to the final round.
Oliver Alonge, Joanna Tao, Alex Wang, Hiʻiaka Acoba, Lily Santiago and Simone Caruso from Hawaiʻi were selected scholars to advance to the final round.
These students from Hawaiʻi submitted projects covering a diverse range of topics, such as wildfire suppression devices, coral food supplements and fighting rat lung worm with Hawaiian plants.
“Hawaiʻi inspired my project through its rich biodiversity, including valuable resources from the sea. For this study, I focused on four fungi collected from sea coral from Mau’umae beach and tested their extracts against Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm),” said Joanna Tao.
Joanna wanted her project to “emphasize the value of combining traditional knowledge with modern science to develop innovative, practical solutions.”
“Growing up in Hawaiʻi, I saw many in our community face medical disparities. Treatments for certain illnesses are often costly, not always effective, and sometimes cause harmful side effects. This made me wonder if there could be safer, more accessible alternatives—especially those connected to Hawaiʻi’s unique natural resources,” said Tao.
Joanna is just one of the many students who shine as the next generation of innovators.
“For me, it’s not just about the act of competing, it’s about sharing the perspectives and traditions shaped by growing up here. Hawaiʻi’s rich culture and natural environment offer a unique perspective that can inspire scientific discovery, and being able to highlight that is truly impactful,” said Tao. “It also emphasizes the value of combining traditional knowledge with modern science to develop innovative, practical solutions.”
Students from across 48 states, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico submitted applications for this year’s contest.
“It’s an honor to represent Hawaiʻi in this competition,” said Tao. “I hope my work inspires other young students, not just in Hawaii, to see that they, too, can use science to make a difference, both in their communities and beyond.”
The top 300 students were awarded $125 from the Department of Defense STEM and other prize packages.
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On Sept. 17, the 30 finalists will be announced and will be up for rewards ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.