Sooryabala Balamurugan, an eighth-grade student at Woodbury Middle School, won honors in a national science competition for his idea for killing bacteria.
Sooryabala was named the Minnesota state merit winner at the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in Maryland. He was one of 34 to receive a state merit award.
The challenge asked middle-school students nationwide to submit new ideas to solve everyday problems. His idea, “Synthesis of SIlver Nanoparticles,” is to use herbs to help kill bacteria. Judges were impressed by his “passion for science, spirit of innovation, ingenuity and effective communication skills,” according to a news release from Discovery Education.
Several winners and finalists of this competition have gone on to give TED Talks, file patents, found nonprofits, make the Forbes “30 Under 30” list, ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange and compete in the White House Science Fair, according to the release.