Young Innovators: Sirish Subash 

Sirish Subash, a 14-year-old student at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, USA, has invented a device capable of detecting pesticides on vegetables and fruits. This handheld device called PestiSCAND uses a method called spectrophotometry that analyses light wavelengths to identify pesticides on food. Sirish won the 2024 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a science competition for middle schoolers in USA, for his device. Pesticides on vegetables and fruits can lead to numerous diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and cancer and Sirish hopes his device will help people identify pesticides on food items before consumption.