New Delhi: Eight out of ten finalists for America’s Top Young Scientist in 2025 were of Indian origin, and their inventions ranged from underwater robots to biofabric textiles to cups made from fruit peel. That’s not all; Indian-Americans have featured as finalists and winners in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge every year since the competition began in 2012.
In 2024, six out of 10 finalists were of Indian origin, and the winner of the Young Scientist Award was Sirish Subash, a 13-year-old Indian-American boy from Georgia, US. Subash won the $25,000 challenge with his innovative AI-based handheld pesticide detector, which scans for pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables.
The 2025 finalists also showcased unique innovations, such as 13-year-old Aniket Sarkar’s atmospheric moisture-capturing system, which is a low-cost way to help boost irrigation for crops in dry areas. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Sheyna Patel from Orlando developed a non-toxic hydrogel that can break down microplastics in water to prevent plastic pollution in oceans and water bodies.
Every year, students from fifth to eighth grades across the United States participate in the challenge started by educational platform Discovery Education and American conglomerate 3M. It invites students to submit entries with a STEM innovation that could solve everyday problems faced by local communities or even global populations.
While the top 10 finalists get a $1,000 award and a chance to be mentored by a scientist from 3M, one entrant is chosen every year as America’s Top Young Scientist. Since 2012, Indian-origin students have won the challenge seven times.
The challenge also has a State Merit Award section, where one student from every American state is awarded a prize pack and a certificate. In 2025, there were 20 Indian-origin winners in the State Merit list.
Indian-origin students excel in other fields too
The Young Scientist award isn’t the first time Indian-American students have shown academic excellence. The Scripps National Spelling Bee championship in the US has been dominated by Indian-origin students since 2000, with a 12-year streak from 2008 to 2021, which featured only Indian-origin winners.
In March 2026, 14-year-old Shrey Parikh, an Indian-American student from California, won the Spelling Bee after spelling 32 words correctly in 90 seconds. The first and second runner-ups in the competition were Indian-origin, too.
The trend is consistent with larger numbers—a Pew Research Centre survey showed that Indian-Americans have one of the highest median annual household incomes in the US. Around 77 per cent of Indian-Americans have at least a bachelor’s degree, much higher than the 44 per cent national US average.
Authors Devesh Kapur, Sanjoy Chakraborty and Nirvikar Singh explain the phenomenon of highly educated Indian diaspora communities in the book The Other One Percent: Indians in America (2016). The 1965 US Immigration and Nationality Act opened the doors of America for educated, skilled Indians. This early immigration wave is credited with creating the ‘model minority’ community of Indians in the US, which continues to this day, the book said.
The winner of America’s Top Young Scientist 2026 will be declared in October.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
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