A Kenmore Middle School seventh grader is receiving national recognition for a project studying massive bursts of plasma from the sun.
Maedot Tinsae Ayalew has been named one of 30 finalists in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, a contest that celebrates middle schoolers who excel in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Ayalew’s project, “The Effects of Seasonal Variation on the Kinematics of Coronal Mass Ejections Using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite,” studies how the frequency of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) varies throughout the calendar year.
The idea came out of her curiosity about the aurora borealis.
“Despite my many attempts, I haven’t seen the northern lights,” Ayalew said in a press release. “This led me to the next best thing, research.”
That’s how she began to study CMEs, which can cause some of the brightest auroras but also have real-world risks, like damaging satellites and increasing cancer risks for astronauts.
Ayalew analyzed data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft, focusing on CMEs between 2018 and 2022. Her findings showed that the velocities of CMEs peaked in the fall, while acceleration was highest in the spring, when the earth and sun’s magnetic fields align.
“By knowing what seasons have the greatest kinematics of CMEs, scientists can avoid those time periods,” Ayalew said.
Her project is in the running for several top awards, including the $25,000 Aspiring Scientists Cultivating Exciting New Discoveries (ASCEND) award, which recognizes mastery in all STEM fields.
A panel of D.C. judges will announce winners of the Junior Innovators Challenge next month. Each finalist will also receive $500, and their schools will get $1,000 for “STEM activities.”
The competition, run by the Society for Science, is part of a larger effort to promote STEM education and inspire the next generation of innovators. A nationwide panel of scientists, engineers and educators selected finalists from the Top 300 Junior Innovators announced last month.
“Congratulations to the Top 30 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists,” Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the Society for Science and executive publisher of Science News, said in a press release. “Their innovative projects showcase the bright future of STEM. These young people remind us of the importance of nurturing scientific curiosity from an early age and investing in STEM education.”
Outside of science, Ayalew is learning Amharic, the language of her family’s native country, Ethiopia. She also plays soccer and hopes to one day become an astrophysicist.
“The universe has always held a sort of wonder to me,” she said.
