Twin brothers from Riverside whose projects demonstrating the possibility of using hydrogels to prevent brush fires from rekindling each received awards totaling $20,000 in a science competition to further higher level learning among youths, it was announced Thursday.
Henry and Jack Grover, 14, were among 30 finalists in the annual Thermo Fisher Scientific “Junior Innovators Challenge,” co-sponsored by the Society for Science earlier this week in Washington, D.C.
“This year’s winners have demonstrated impressive scientific rigor, personal passion and the character skills to succeed at such a young age,” Thermo Fisher Chief Science Officer Karen Nelson said. “And their journey doesn’t end here. Our hope is that they are inspired by this exciting experience to advance their research to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges and encourage more students to see a future for themselves in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — STEM.”
Henry was awarded the $10,000 Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award for his focus on sustainable development, predicating his research on the 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County.
Jack received the $10,000 DOW STEM Talent Award for his demonstration of the advancement of technical skills in the 21st century based on identical research.
According to the Society for Science, “Jack and Henry investigated whether a water-absorbing gel, or hydrogel, could help prevent fires from re-igniting. They identified sodium polyacrylate as the most promising hydrogel and designed a sprayer to apply it to areas at risk of rekindling.”
The boys joined contestants from throughout the country, who earned accolades for a range of research projects, including earthquake aftershock risk forecasting, utilizing artificial intelligence for baseball pitching and methods for ridding microplastics from the ecosystem.
More information is available at www.societyforscience.org/.