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TROY — Lakshya Matele, from Larson Middle School, is one of the 26 state merit winners in Discovery Education and 3M’s 2024 Young Scientist Challenge.
The challenge asks scientists in grades five-eight to explore innovation by submitting an up to two-minute video explaining an original idea using science to help solve an everyday problem.
“My solution to that problem is an app called IntelliEats, that I created, which when you take a picture of the ingredient label of your packaged food, it will tell you if and which unhealthy and harmful ingredients are in the packaged food,” Matele said in an email. “If people want, then they can also go to another page of my app to get a short summary of why the ingredient it detected is unhealthy.”
Matele has been an active participant in her school’s science fair club, and its science and engineering elective, and has continued to develop her app during her lab time at school. Her research and app plans were presented at the Science and Engineering Fair of Metro Detroit in March, where she won the Grand Award. She hopes to release her app for the public in the near future.
“My project’s goal is to help people be more aware about what ingredients are going in their daily packaged foods, as they can choose healthier foods to eat and live a healthier life,” Matele said in an email.
The subject of Matele’s submission was to provide consumers with easier access to information in processed packaged foods that could discern ingredients and chemicals within the food products that could be considered unhealthy, harmful chemicals or potentially lead to various chronic diseases.
Amy Nakamoto, the executive vice president of social impact at Discovery Education, said the 3M Young Scientist Challenge “nurtures student curiosity by challenging them to think big and innovate for a better world.”
“We are excited to support this effort to demonstrate students’ ability to use science to create a better world,” she said in a press release.
All of the entries were reviewed by a group of judges, who evaluated them on their creativity, scientific knowledge, and communication skills. Videos were recorded using a cellphone or digital camera and were not judged on production skills. This year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge offered innovative ways for students to engage in science through new entry topics, like robotics, home improvement, automotive, safety, augmented and virtual reality, and climate technology.
Each year, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge recognizes a grand prize winner, 10 finalists, up to 51 state merit winners, and four honorable mentions nationwide. The 2024 challenge recognized 26 state merit winners, along with four honorable mentions. Each state merit winner receives special recognition on the challenge website, along with a prize pack.
“The projects submitted to the 3M Young Scientist Challenge showcase how science is critical to driving progress and delivering sustainable solutions. All of these students are already making the world a better place through science, and we applaud each for their innovations,” Torie Clarke, the executive vice president and chief public affairs officer at 3M, said in a press release.
For more information about the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and to meet the 2024 competitors, visit YoungScientistLab.com.
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