Students Changing the World – This Year’s Google Science Fair Winners

When Google Science Fair launched last fall, students were challenged to channel their curiosity and ingenuity to invent, code or build a solution to a problem they’re passionate about. Thousands of students participated, and past weekend Google welcomed their 24 finalists—from 14 countries around the world—to explore Google’s headquarters to reveal the winners.

These changemakers tackled issues across sustainability, healthcare, and accessibility. The company saw impressive entries that used a variety of STEM disciplines—from using AI to help detect disease in plants to finding new ways to diagnose heart disease.

Ready to find out who the winners are?

• Grand Prize: Fionn Ferreira—a West Cork, Ireland resident who wants to help save the oceans by extracting harmful microplastics from wastewater.
• Virgin Galactic Pioneer Award: Celestine Wenardy— a student from Indonesia who set out to find affordable, non-invasive ways for members of her community to test their blood sugar levels.
• Scientific American Innovator Award: Tuan Dolmen—a Turkish science enthusiast who found a way to harness energy from tree vibrations.
• National Geographic Explorer Award: Aman KA and AU Nachiketh—two young scientists from India who found an eco-friendly way to coagulate rubber.
• Lego Education Builder Award: Daniel Kazanstev—a Russian student who wanted to find a better way to help those with impaired hearing communicate with the world around them.

Google was joined by a panel of judges, including their partners: Lego Education, Scientific American, Virgin Galactic and National Geographic. Mariette DiChristina, Editor in Chief of Scientific American and the chief judge for this year’s competition praised Fionn for his “tenacity and dedication to solving an important environmental problem embodies the spirit of exploration.”

Behind every ambitious student are parents and teachers (hats off to you!) who cheer them on, and push them to keep learning. And to the students, you rock. We can’t wait to see what you do next.

Source: Google