PC:
USA
Today
A
14-yea -old
Geo gia
stude t
has
tu ed
a
commo
kitche
co ce
i to
a
awa d-wi i g
scie ce
p oject.
Si ish
Subash,
a
i th
g ade
f om
S ellville,
built
PestiSCAND,
a
ha dheld
device
desig ed
to
detect
pesticide
esidues
o
f uits
a d
vegetables.
As
epo ted
by
USA
Today,
his
i ve tio
ea ed
him
the
title
of
Ame ica’s
Top
You g
Scie tist
i
Octobe
2024,
alo g
with
a
$25,000
p ize
i
the
a ual
3M
a d
Discove y
Educatio
competitio .
Subash
developed
the
device
afte
becomi g
i te ested
i
the
difficulty
co sume s
face
i
k owi g
what
may
emai
o
p oduce
eve
afte
it
has
bee
washed.
Repo tedly,
usi g
a tificial
i tellige ce,
PestiSCAND
was
tested
o
spi ach
a d
tomatoes
a d
eco ded
accu acy
of
mo e
tha
85%,
acco di g
to
3M.
Subash
says
the
device
is
i te ded
to
compleme t
washi g,
ot
eplace
it,
by
offe i g
co sume s
a othe
way
to
check
thei
p oduce.
How
a
14-yea -old
c eated
a
AI-powe ed
po table
pesticide
detecto
Subash’s
i ve tio ,
called
PestiSCAND,
is
i te ded
to
give
people
a
way
of
checki g
p oduce
at
home
athe
tha
elyi g
solely
o
washi g.Pesticide
esidues
ca
emai
o
food
c ops
afte
they
have
bee
ha vested,
a d
co sume s
ge e ally
have
little
way
of
k owi g
whethe
t aces
a e
still
p ese t.
Subash
wa ted
to
c eate
a
po table
method
fo
detecti g
them.Fo
his
p oject,
he
tested
the
device
o
spi ach
a d
tomatoes.
The
system
used
a tificial
i tellige ce
to
help
ide tify
pesticide
esidues,
a d
acco di g
to
3M,
its
accu acy
was
above
85%,
meeti g
the
p oject’s
ta gets
fo
speed
a d
effective ess.That
did
ot
tu
PestiSCAND
i to
a
eplaceme t
fo
washi g.
His
suggestio
is
to
i se
p oduce
fi st
a d
the
use
the
device
as
a
additio al
check.
The
pu pose,
as
he
desc ibed
it,
is
to
give
co sume s
a othe
piece
of
i fo matio
about
what
is
left
o
thei
food.
The
i ve tio
was
ot
p ese ted
as
a
way
to
make
washi g
u ecessa y,
but
as
a
possible
tool
to
sit
alo gside
the
habits
people
al eady
have
i
thei
kitche s.
Why
pesticide
esidues
became
the
focus
Subash’s
p ese tatio
d ew
o
figu es
f om
the
US
Food
a d
D ug
Admi ist atio ‘s
pesticide
esidue
mo ito i g
wo k.
The
FDA
epo ted
that
70.6%
of
samples
p oduce
items.
The
p ese ce
of
a
esidue
does
ot,
by
itself,
establish
that
eati g
the
food
will
cause
ill ess.
The
health
implicatio s
depe d
o
facto s
such
as
the
substa ce
i volved,
the
amou t
a d
the
level
of
exposu e.
Subash’s
p oject
i stead
focused
o
the
basic
p oblem
of
detectio :
if
co sume s
ca ot
easily
see
esidues,
they
have
limited
i fo matio
about
what
emai s
o
thei
p oduce.That
questio
led
him
towa ds
a
device
that
could
be
used
outside
a
labo ato y.
His
i te est
was
also
co ected
to
co ce s
about
possible
health
effects
associated
with
pesticide
exposu e.
I
explai i g
his
p oject,
he
efe ed
to
co ditio s
i cludi g
ce tai
ca ce s
a d
eu ological
diseases.
Those
health
questio s
fo med
pa t
of
the
easo i g
behi d
his
effo t,
but
the
i ve tio
itself
was
focused
o
detecti g
esidues
athe
tha
diag osi g
o
p eve ti g
disease.PestiSCAND
was
a
school
scie ce
p oject
desig ed
to
ide tify
a
co tami a t,
ot
a
medical
device.
F om
a
la ge
machi e
to
somethi g
that
could
be
ca ied
The
ve sio
Subash
p ese ted
at
the
competitio
was
ot
the
fi st
fo m
of
his
i ve tio .
He
i itially
wo ked
with
a
la ge
device
befo e
co ce t ati g
o
maki g
the
system
smalle
a d
easie
to
ca y.
The
ewe
ve sio
was
desig ed
to
commu icate
wi elessly
th ough
Bluetooth,
givi g
it
a
mo e
p actical
fo m
fo
use
outside
a
labo ato y
o
class oom.That
cha ge
eflects
the
diffe e ce
betwee
p ovi g
a
idea
ca
wo k
a d
thi ki g
about
how
somebody
might
actually
use
it.
A
device
sitti g
o
a
wo kbe ch
ca
be
useful
fo
a
expe ime t.
A
ha dheld
detecto
that
ca
be
take
i to
a
kitche
is
a
diffe e t
p opositio .
Subash’s
wo k
moved
towa ds
the
seco d
idea,
eve
though
the
p oject
emai ed
at
the
expe ime tal
stage.
He
had
co ducted
multiple
t ials
by
the
time
he
e te ed
the
competitio .
The
esults
we e
e cou agi g
e ough
fo
the
p oject
to
meet
the
competitio ‘s
stated
pe fo ma ce
goals,
but
PestiSCAND
was
still
a
ea ly-stage
i ve tio
athe
tha
a
established
co sume
p oduct.
The
competitio
that
b ought
the
p oject
atio al
atte tio
Subash’s
wi
came
th ough
the
a ual
Ame ica’s
Top
You g
Scie tist
competitio ,
u
by
3M
a d
Discove y
Educatio .
The
p og amme
has
bee
highlighti g
middle
school
STEM
p ojects
fo
17
yea s
a d
is
built
a ou d
stude ts
attempti g
to
solve
p actical
p oblems
th ough
scie ce
a d
tech ology.The
oute
to
the
fi al
is
competitive.
Hu d eds
of
stude ts
apply,
with
10
fi alists
selected
i
Ju e.
Those
fi alists
the
spe d
about
fou
mo ths
wo ki g
vi tually
with
3M
scie tists
who
me to
them
as
thei
p ojects
develop.The
stude ts
eve tually
t avel
to
Mi esota
fo
the
fi al
competitio ,
whe e
thei
wo k
is
assessed
o
a eas
i cludi g
c eativity,
commu icatio
a d
i ge uity.
USA
Today
epo ted,
Subash
came
out
o
top
afte
the
competitio
held
o
Oct.
14
a d
15,
2024.
The
p ize
was
$25,000,
but
the
p og amme
has
also
become
a
oute
i to
fu the
oppo tu ities
fo
some
of
its
pa ticipa ts.
Acco di g
to
3M,
past
competito s
have
go e
o
to
pu sue
pate ts,
establish
compa ies
a d
eceive
ecog itio
such
as
bei g
amed
to
30
U de
30
lists.
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