Drumroll Please! 🥁 Meet the Top 10 Finalists of the 2020 Challenge! 👏

Congratulations to the Top 10 Finalists in the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge!

3M and Discovery Education are honored to announce the Top 10 Finalists in 2020’s 3M Young Scientist Challenge! These awesome individuals harnessed the power of STEM to imagine ingenious new scientific solutions that can be used to help improve the world. 

Learn more about the incredible innovations that earned these middle school students a spot as Top 10 Finalists. Meanwhile, they’ll be heading into an exclusive summer mentorship with a 3M scientist to prepare for the Virtual Final Event this fall!

And, don't forget - check back here all summer long as our finalists take over the blog to discuss their scientific journey, share updates on their projects and talk about their mentorship with a 3M Scientist!  

Meet Our Finalists (in alphabetical order by last name): 

LAASYA ACHARYA, 7th Grade | Mason, Ohio 
Mason Middle School, Mason City School District 

XAVIER BAQUERO-IGLESIAS, 5th Grade | Naples, Florida 
Community School-Naples, Collier County 

ANIKA CHEBROLU, 8th Grade | Frisco, Texas 
Nelson Middle School, Frisco Ind School District 

RITHVIK IJJU, 8th Grade | Englewood, Colorado 
Challenge School, Cherry Creek School District 5 

EKANSH MITTAL, 8th Grade | Beaverton, Oregon 
Meadow Park Middle School, Beaverton School District 

HARSHA PILLARISETTI, 8th Grade | San Ramon, California 
Windemere Ranch Middle School, San Ramon Valley Unified School District 

SAMHITA POKKUNURI, 7th Grade | Old Bridge, New Jersey 
Carl Sandburg Middle School, Old Bridge Township School District 

SAMVRIT RAO, 7th Grade | Ashburn, Virginia 
Stone Hill Middle School, Loudoun Co Public School District 

KYLE TIANSHI, 8th Grade | San Diego, California 
The Cambridge School, Private School 

SOPHIA WEINER, 8th Grade | Rockledge, Florida 
Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, Private School