Five Pine Crest School students have been named Top 300 Junior Innovators in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, the nation’s premier STEM research competition for middle school students.
At the end of the last school year, 10 Middle School Science research students completed applications for the competition. Rhea Mahesh ’30, David Diaz-Padua ’30, Max Hall ’30, Maximilian Wakefield ’30 and Bailey Frank ’30 were selected from 1,997 entrants nationwide for the prestigious recognition.
The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, a program of Society for Science, recognizes outstanding middle school students for their science and engineering research. Students become eligible to apply to the national competition by placing among the top 10% of sixth, seventh and eighth grade participants at Society-affiliated science fairs.
As part of the national selection process, students completed an extensive application highlighting their research projects, personal STEM interests and approach to scientific inquiry.
The next stage of the competition will be announced on September 16, when Society for Science will select 30 finalists from the Top 300. Finalists will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Congratulations to Rhea, David, Max, Maximilian and Bailey!
.PNG&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Pine Crest Upper School Entrepreneurs Earn Second Place and Seed Funding at SPARK Pitch Competition")
