A 14-year-old named “America’s Top Young Scientist” created a soap that heals skin cancer.
The honorable prize from 3M and Discovery Education, regarded as one of the finest middle school scientific competitions in the nation, was won by Heman Bekele, a ninth student from Annandale, Virginia.
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“I believe that young minds can make a positive impact on the world,” Heman said in his submission for the award.
“I have always been interested in biology and technology, and this challenge gave me the perfect platform to showcase my ideas,” he noted.
For the past four months, Heman has been vying to be dubbed “America’s Top Young Scientist” against nine other finalists. The goal of the competition is to assist students in grades 5 through 8 in developing an original concept that will improve the world.
Young scientists who are recognized with the award get a financial incentive of $25,000 in addition to the renowned title.
According to a press statement announcing the award, Heman received the top honor this year at 3M’s St. Paul, Minnesota, headquarters on October 9 and 10.
A ninth-grader from San Jose, California named Shripriya Kalbhavi won second place for creating an inexpensive patch that enables self-automated medicine distribution without tablets or needles.
Third-place winner Sarah Wang, a seventh-grader from Andover, Massachusetts, created a glove that can recognize specific epileptic episodes through regular hand movements.
The children who came in fourth through tenth place each received a $1,000 reward and a $500 gift card, while Shripriya and Sarah each received $2,000. Among others, the other students from Portland, Oregon, Baltimore, New Rochelle, New York, Austin, Texas, and Oviedo, Florida, are represented.
Heman created a soap bar made of compounds with melanoma treatment in mind. Making one bar of soap costs roughly fifty cents.
Over the following five years, Heman plans to improve his invention and establish a non-profit company to provide the soap to underserved areas, as reported by 3M and Discovery Education.
