Hauppauge High School Freshman Aditri Arun has been recognized among the Top 300 Junior Innovators in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC) for research she completed as an eighth grader!

A student in the Newton STEM Scholar Program, Aditri was selected for her project, Orange is the New Green, earning her a place among some of the nation’s most promising young STEM innovators.

The Thermo Fisher JIC, a program of Society for Science, is the nation’s premier STEM competition for middle school students. This year’s Top 300 were selected from a competitive pool of nearly 2,000 applicants, representing some of the strongest middle school STEM talent from across the United States and its territories.

The projects recognized this year demonstrate the wide-ranging interests and innovative thinking of today’s young scientists and engineers. Among the challenges being explored are developing a solar-powered air purifier, identifying materials that can generate electric power from friction, using machine learning to predict asthma risk, and applying artificial intelligence to improve aviation safety.

Aditri’s work was also celebrated at the June Board of Education meeting, where she received the Environmental Science Award from the Long Island Solar Project for her project Orange is the New Green.

Now a ninth-grader, Aditri continues her studies in Hauppauge’s Newton STEM Scholar Program, building on the curiosity and passion for research that earned her national recognition. Her accomplishment is a wonderful example of the meaningful opportunities available to Hauppauge students to explore their interests, pursue questions that matter to them, and develop their ideas through hands-on research.

We are incredibly proud of Aditri and look forward to seeing where her curiosity and creativity take her next!