HAMDEN, Conn. — A student from the Engineering and Science University Inter-district Magnet School has been named one of the most promising middle school STEM students in the nation.
It was announced Wednesday that 13-year-old Snigtha Mohanraj was ranked a top 30 finalist in the Broadcom MASTERS, which is the United State's premier Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering middle school competition.
This year the contest will be all virtual and the finalist will compete for over $100,000 in awards.
Snigtha's project is called "Effectiveness of the Organic Polymers for Removing Microplastic in an Aqueous Solution."
The idea began when Mohanraj was visiting India and saw some processes for purifying water of the microplastic pieces floating inside the water.
"Our water may look clean, but actually, many microplastic pieces have contaminated it,” Snigtha says.
The process she saw required a type of seed from a tree call nirmali seeds. The seeds could act as a clotting agent to make the plastic bits clump together.
“This sparked the idea of testing different natural coagulants to see which one would work the most efficiently,” she says.
This talented student said in her spare time she likes to watch fantasy adventure movies, go horseback riding, play volleyball, piano, and violin among other things.
Snigtha said she hopes to become an industrial engineer.
FOX61 wishes her the best in the upcoming competition!
For more on the Broadcom MASTERS, click here.
