Meet Siyaa Poddar, winner of the Regeneron Young Scientist Award (Regeneron ISEF 2025) скачать в хорошем качестве

Meet Siyaa Poddar, winner of the Regeneron Young Scientist Award (Regeneron ISEF 2025)

Siyaa Poddar, 16, of Chandler, Arizona, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award at the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair for her device, which rapidly detects toxic dusts. In the U.S. Southwest, toxic silica and uranium dusts from abandoned mines are a public health challenge. They contaminate the soil, air and groundwater, and can trigger autoimmune diseases like Sjögren’s syndrome. Rates of Sjögren’s syndrome are disproportionately high on Indigenous reservations in the Southwest, where many abandoned mines remain. Currently, there’s no easy, fast or affordable way to measure how much of these toxins are in the air. Siyaa designed two low-cost detectors using chemicals that easily react with uranium or silica by changing color. She trapped these chemicals in a framework made of metal atoms and organic molecules to stabilize them. Her system is an affordable, easy-to-use way to monitor air quality. Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college science and engineering competition. Learn more: https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/