3M Names America’s Top Young Scientist of 2021:14-Year-Old Sarah Park, for Music Therapy Treatment to Improve Mental Health
St. Paul, Minn. and Silver Spring, Md. (Friday, October 22, 2021) – 3M (@3M) and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd) have named 14-year-old Sarah Park from Jacksonville, Fla. the winner of the 2021 3M Young Scientist Challenge ( #YoungScientist), the nation’s premier center faculty science competitors. Sarah created Spark Care+, an innovation that personalizes music remedy therapy for psychological well being enchancment utilizing synthetic intelligence (AI), pores and skin response (GSR) and photoplethysmography (PPG). As the 3M Young Scientist Challenge grand prize winner, Sarah acquired a $25,000 money prize, the distinguished title of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” and a particular vacation spot journey.
“The 3M Young Scientist Challenge aligns with 3M’s commitment to fostering the next generation of science leaders, and exemplifies how a quality STEM education can get young people interested and excited about science as a way to improve lives all around the world,” mentioned Dr. Denise Rutherford, senior vp and chief company affairs officer at 3M. “Against the backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists have each shown how grit, determination, resiliency, innovative thinking, and the scientific process come together to create truly incredible innovations with the potential to address major global challenges. 3M is inspired by these young inventors, and we celebrate their accomplishments. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Sarah Park, and to all our 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists. We thank you for inspiring us through your efforts.”
The international pandemic has had a profound affect on psychological well being – negatively affecting thousands and thousands of individuals and creating new obstacles for individuals already affected by psychological well being issues. For her undertaking, Sarah developed SparkCare+ as an environment friendly, inexpensive, transportable, and personalised music remedy for psychological well being enchancment. SparkCare+ is made up of two parts: a communication with the participant, and a mechanism that makes use of deep neural networks to choose therapeutic music.
The communication part of SparkCare+ asks the participant questions and elaborates on the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression ranking scales, offering perception for the AI. Sarah used Arduino (an open-source digital prototyping platform) so a PPG sensor may gauge indicators concerning the participant’s psychological state, together with their coronary heart charge and blood stress. The GSR sensor is an extra device Sarah developed to point out psychological state, and to present the AI the required data to decide appropriate music for the participant and sense progress. Sarah envisions growing personalised wristbands for all pursuits and ages, in order that anybody searching for enchancment in psychological well being might be handled with Spark Care+.
The 3M Young Scientist Challenge additionally named 14-year-old Samarth Mahapatra from Marietta, Ga. because the recipient of the Improving Lives Award, a particular recognition award based mostly on on-line public voting to select the ultimate undertaking from the problem that has the best potential to make a constructive affect on the world. Inspired by his nice aunt who had to quit cooking due to glaucoma-induced blindness, Samarth’s undertaking, “Accessibility Friendly Guidance System for Optimal Cooking Operations based on Machine Learning,” deployed edge computing and advance imaginative and prescient algorithms to assist individuals with imaginative and prescient impairments prepare dinner with ease.
Now in its fourteenth yr, the 2021 3M Young Scientist Challenge hosted the two-day competitors as a digital occasion on Oct. 18 and 19, 2021. Sarah Park, an eighth-grader at Bolles School – Bartram in Jacksonville, Fla. on the time of entry, competed towards 9 different finalists. Each finalist was evaluated via a collection of interactive, digital challenges and the ultimate presentation of their innovation. These ten younger inventors, aged 12 to 14, gained the highest spots on this yr’s problem via their revolutionary pondering, scientific acumen, and distinctive communication abilities.
Over the previous few months, every 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalist labored with a 3M scientist who mentored and labored one-on-one with them to remodel their concept from idea to bodily prototype. Sarah Park was paired with Dr. Ann Fornof, a senior analysis specialist within the adhesives division at 3M.
All ten 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists acquired a range of prizes from 3M and Discovery Education. The grand prize winner acquired a $25,000 money prize, the distinguished title of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” and a particular vacation spot journey. The second and third place winners every acquired a $1,000 prize and a particular vacation spot journey. These distinctive college students on the time of entry are:
- In second place, Samarth Mahapatra from Marietta, Ga., an eighth-grader at Dodgen Middle School in Cobb County High School Area 1. Samarth deployed edge computing and advance imaginative and prescient algorithms to assist individuals with imaginative and prescient impairments prepare dinner with ease.
- In third place, Snigtha Mohanraj from West Haven, Conn., an eighth-grader at Engineering and Science University Magnet School in New Haven Public School District. Snigtha invented Ferro-Sponge, a novel approach to take away microplastics and oil from contaminated water.
The fourth via tenth place winners every obtain a $1,000 prize and a $500 excitations gift card. These finalists on the time of entry, in alphabetical order by final identify, are:
- Abhinav Anne from Plainfield, Ill., a seventh-grader at Clifford Crone Middle School in Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204.
- Veda Murthy from Herndon, Va., a seventh-grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Fairfax County Public School District.
- Viraj Pandey from San Jose, Calif., a seventh-grader at Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose Unified School District.
- Moitri Santra from Oviedo, Fla., a seventh-grader at Jackson Heights Middle School in Seminole County Public School District.
- Danielle Steinbach from San Jose, Calif., a seventh-grader at Harker Middle School.
- Aadrit Talukdar from San Jose, Calif., a seventh-grader at Basis Independent Silicon Valley.
- Sydney Zhang from San Diego, Calif., an eighth-grader at Mesa Verde Middle School in Poway Unified School District.
“For 14 years, Discovery Education and 3M have partnered to help empower young people to bring STEM learning to life,” mentioned Lori McFarling, president of social affect at Discovery Education. “Every single one of this year’s participants demonstrated the power of STEM to change the world and improve lives.”
The 3M Young Scientist Challenge evokes and challenges center faculty college students to suppose creatively and apply the ability of STEM to discovering real-world options. America’s Top Young Scientists have gone on to give TED Talks, file patents, discovered nonprofits, make the Forbes 30 Under 30 checklist, ring the bell on the New York Stock Exchange, and exhibit on the White House Science Fair. These younger innovators have additionally been named Time Magazine’s first Kid of the Year, featured in The New York Times Magazine, Forbes, Business Insider, and on nationwide tv packages comparable to Good Morning America, CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and extra.
The award-winning 3M Young Scientist Challenge dietary supplements the 3M and Discovery Education program – Young Scientist Lab – which supplies no-cost dynamic digital assets for college students, academics, and households to discover, remodel, and innovate the world round them. All the assets are additionally out there via the Young Scientist Lab Channel and within the Social Impact Partnerships channel on Discovery Education’s not too long ago enhanced K-12 learning platform.
To obtain pictures from the 2021 science competitors, click on here. To study extra concerning the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and meet this yr’s winners and finalists, go to youngscientistlab.com.
For extra details about Discovery Education’s digital assets {and professional} studying companies, go to www.discoveryeducation.com, and keep related with Discovery Education on social media via Twitter and LinkedIn.
About 3M
At 3M, we apply science in collaborative methods to enhance lives every day as our workers join with clients all all over the world. Learn extra about 3M’s inventive options to international challenges at www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech chief whose state-of-the-art digital platform helps studying wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content material, tutorial helps, and revolutionary classroom instruments, Discovery Education helps educators ship equitable studying experiences participating all college students and supporting larger tutorial achievement on a world scale. Discovery Education serves roughly 4.5 million educators and 45 million college students worldwide, and its assets are accessed in over 140 nations and territories. Inspired by the worldwide media firm Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education companions with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower academics with main edtech options that assist the success of all learners. Explore the long run of training at www.discoveryeducation.com.
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