14-Year-Old Inventor Wins “America’s Top Young Scientist” Award for Skin Cancer Treatment Soap

October 25, 2023

Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Annandale, Virginia, has achieved an incredible feat by winning the esteemed “America’s Top Young Scientist” award. Presented by 3M and Discovery Education, this award is considered one of the nation’s premier middle school science competitions.

The Competition

Heman’s journey to this prestigious title involved four months of intense competition against nine other finalists. The competition’s aim is to empower students ranging from fifth to eighth grade to conceive innovative ideas capable of positively impacting their world.

Grand Prize Winner

Heman clinched the grand prize at 3M’s headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, on October 9 and 10. His accomplishment is not just an honorary achievement; it comes with a substantial $25,000 cash prize.

Other Remarkable Innovators

The competition also recognized the ingenuity of other young minds. Shripriya Kalbhavi, a ninth-grader from San Jose, California, secured second place for her development of a cost-effective patch that enables self-automated medication delivery without the need for pills or needles. Meanwhile, Sarah Wang, a seventh-grader from Andover, Massachusetts, came in third place for inventing a glove capable of detecting certain epileptic seizures through common hand movements.

Acknowledging Young Talent

In addition to the top three winners, participants who secured positions fourth through tenth were awarded a $1,000 prize along with a $500 gift card. These bright minds hailed from various cities across the United States.

Heman’s Innovative Solution

Heman’s winning invention is a compound-based bar of soap meticulously designed to treat melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Remarkably, this life-changing soap costs just around $0.50 to produce.

A Vision for the Future

Heman aspires to further refine his groundbreaking innovation and establish a non-profit organization. His goal is to distribute this soap to communities in need over the next five years, thus extending its positive impact.

Rising Skin Cancer Cases

Heman’s invention holds profound significance in the context of the United States, where skin cancer cases have been steadily increasing over the past few decades. According to the National Cancer Institute, the rate of new cases rose to 24.1 per 100,000 people in 2019, compared to 14.6 in 1992. Skin cancer is a global concern, with an estimated 1.5 million new cases in 2020, making it one of the most commonly diagnosed groups of cancers worldwide, as reported by the National Institute of Health.

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