From Curiosity to Engineering: An Evolving Research Journey of a Teenager
An IEEE LMAG talk organized by IEEE LMAG Singapore. This talk will be chaired by Professor S V Sankaran, Vice-Chair of LMAG Singapore.
ABSTRACT:
This talk traces the progression of an engineering journey for a teenager that began with early scientific curiosity and evolved into the development of portable diagnostic systems. From writing introductory science books such as Carbon Block Puzzle and Biochemistry the Fun Way to building independent laboratory prototypes during high school, the trajectory reflects a shift from understanding science conceptually to implementing it through structured system design. The presentation briefly describes the formative environment—school research initiatives, home-built laboratory experimentation, and early competition exposure—that shaped this transition.
The technical core of the talk examines three applied engineering projects: PestiSCAND, a portable pesticide detection system developed through national competition work; PlastiSeek, a rapid microplastic identification platform; and ongoing research in microMCED, a multi-cancer early detection framework. The session emphasizes architectural design, signal acquisition under low-amplitude conditions, embedded processing constraints, iterative prototyping cycles, and validation methodology. The aim is to present a disciplined systems-engineering perspective on translating analytical science into deployable instrumentation. The presentation concludes with reflections from national competitions, participation in Aspen Ideas Health conference and TEDxGatewayYouth, and current research directions aimed at scaling accessible diagnostic technologies.
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- Starts 15 March 2026 04:00 PM UTC
- Ends 09 April 2026 04:00 AM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Sirish
From Curiosity to Engineering: An Evolving Research Journey of a Teenager
Biography:
BIO: Sirish Subash is a 15-year-old boy, and attends Grade X at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, near Atlanta, USA. He is an innovator, researcher, and author; he won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2024 and was recognized as "America’s Top Young Scientist." A lifelong curiosity about the natural world drives his commitment to solving global challenges through science and engineering. His journey in science began with his book, Carbon Block Puzzle, and during the Covid pandemic he authored the graphic novel Biochemistry the Fun Way.
Following these early publications, Sirish transitioned into advanced hardware research, developing PestiSCAND (for the 3M contest), a handheld device that utilizes spectrophotometry and AI to identify pesticide residues on produce with 94% accuracy. Expanding on this work, he developed PlastiSeek, a portable detector capable of identifying PET, PA, PP, and HDPE microplastics in water with over 91% accuracy in under three seconds.
Sirish continues to pursue new inventions, using scientific innovation as a force for positive change.
Address:Atlanta, Georgia, United States