Meet the 2022 Winners

The Samueli Foundation Prize: $25,000

Winner: Thomas Aldous
 
Project: Remote Rescue Robot: Robotic Hand Controlled by Human Motion
 
Thomas Aldous, 14, Pittsburgh, Penn., won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, for his project designing a robotic hand as well as his leadership, collaboration and critical thinking skills. The prize is a gift of Dr. Henry Samueli, Chairman of the Board, Broadcom Inc., and Chair of the Broadcom Foundation and his wife, Dr. Susan Samueli, President of the Samueli Foundation.

DoD STEM Talent Award: $10,000

Winner: Rory Hu
 
Project: The Effects of Pesticides, Caffeine and Tea Polyphenols on the Visual and Olfactory Learning and Memory of the Honey Bee
 
Thomas Aldous, 14, Pittsburgh, Penn., won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, for his project designing a robotic hand as well as his leadership, collaboration and critical thinking skills. The prize is a gift of Dr. Henry Samueli, Chairman of the Board, Broadcom Inc., and Chair of the Broadcom Foundation and his wife, Dr. Susan Samueli, President of the Samueli Foundation.

Lemelson Award for Invention: $10,000

Winner: Jeanelle Dao
 
Project: Controlling Doors Using Interface Technology with Steps for People with Hand Disabilities (CONDUITS)
 
Jeanelle Dao, 13, San Jose, Calif., won the $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention, awarded by The Lemelson Foundation to a young inventor who creates a promising solution to a real-world problem. Jeanelle invented a foot-controlled welcome mat that wirelessly unlocks a door when the user enters the correct code. The device could help people with arthritis and other hand problems become more self-sufficient.

Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation: $10,000

Winner: Elizabeth Shen
 
Project: Flower Petal Inspired Computer Memory Leveling via the Golden Ratio
 
Elizabeth Shen, 14, Cary, N.C., won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation, an honor made possible by Samueli’s generous donation of his 2012 Marconi Society Prize Award. The finalist demonstrates both vision and promise as an innovator, in the spirit of radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Elizabeth drew inspiration from the way many flower petals grow and the golden ratio to design a system for better managing the wear on a computer’s memory. Over time, many heavily used cells within computers become damaged, and the memory must be replaced. Elizabeth’s system reduces the average number of times cells were accessed, compared to other options.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement: $10,000

Winner: Mina Fedor

Project: EEG Theta During Self-Directed Versus Passive Spatial Memory Encoding and Retrieval
 
Mina Fedor, 14, Berkeley, Calif., won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, which recognizes the student whose work and performance shows the most promise in health-related fields and demonstrates an understanding of the many social factors that affect the health of communities. Mina used electroencephalography, or EEG, to measure a certain type of brain activity as people did active and passive learning tasks. Mina’s research, which found that the brain doesn’t substantially differentiate between the two different kinds of learning, could impact the way educators teach.
 

Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award: $5,000

Winner: Ankit Biswas

Project: A Novel LP-Based Approach to Mitigating Launch Vehicle CO2 Emissions

STEM Award Winners

First and second place winners of STEM Awards demonstrated acumen and promise in science, technology, engineering and math. First place winners were awarded $3,500 and second place winners received $2,500 to be used toward a STEM summer camp experience, with top awards in math sponsored by Robert John Floe, President Floe Financial Partners.

Science Award

First place: Victoria Harding Bradley, Green Ears: A Study of Ultrasonic Acoustic Emissions in Response to Environmental Stressors in Plants

Second place: Kasey Moore, The Effect of Uncaria Tomentosa (Cat’s Claw) in Learning and Memory in Lymnaea Stagnalis (The Great Pond Snail)

Technology Award

First place: Skye Holyn Knox, Laboratory Testing of Chemical Cloud Seeding

Second place: Moitri Santra, Innovative Engineering Tools for Controlling Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB): Year 3

Engineering Award

First place: Alexander Montgomery, The Impact of Different Environmental Conditions on Galvanic Corrosion at Launchpad Structures

Second place: Emma Abigail Simmons, Portable Bronchodilator Delivery System for Equine Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases

Mathematics Award

First place: Sritej Sai Padmanabhan, Can Video Analysis of Hand Tremors Aid in Telehealth?

Second place: Mahi Kohli, Identifying Potential Alzheimer’s Biomarkers in Cerebrospinal Fluid

Rising Stars Award

In recognition of their promise as two of the youngest competitors, two Rising Stars win the opportunity to attend the Regeneron ISEF, the world’s largest international high school science fair competition, as student observers.

Tate Baum, Throwing a Curve Like Kershaw

Sarah Charlotte Simmons, Portable Bronchodilator Delivery System for Equine Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases

Team Award, sponsored by TIES

Each member of the team that best demonstrates their ability to work together and solve problems through shared decision making, communication and scientific and engineering collaboration will receive a gift card to a science supply company to support their interests in STEM. The team award is sponsored by TIES, Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM.

Blue Team – Thomas Aldous, Shaunak Dalal, Skye Holyn Knox, Moitri Santra, Ethan Yan

Broadcom Leadership Award:

The Broadcom Leadership Award is bestowed upon the Broadcom MASTERS finalist elected by their peers to speak on behalf of their class at the Awards Ceremony. The Class Speaker demonstrates the collegiality and spirited leadership that has earned the collective esteem of the class throughout the Broadcom MASTERS competition and united them around common goals.

Luka Anthony Nguyen, Which Mangroves (Mature Plants vs. Immature Propagules) Thrive Better and Are Best Suited for Aerial Reforestation?

2022 Broadcom MASTERS finalists
Name Hometown Project
Thomas Aldous PA Remote Rescue Robot: Robotic Hand Controlled by Human Motion
Tate Baum UT Throwing a Curve Like Kershaw
Dhroov Bharatia TX QuakeWake: AI to the Rescue
Ankit Biswas NC A Novel LP-Based Approach To Mitigating Launch Vehicle CO2 Emissions
Madison Checketts UT The Eco-Hero
Marco Chua FL Wave Force Dissipation: Testing the Effectiveness of Geometric Shapes in Wave Breaking
Shaunak Dalal PA Effect Upon Closure Dynamics of the Application of Weak Acids to the Pulvinus of the Venus Fly Trap
Jeanelle Dao CA Controlling Doors Using Interface Technology With Steps for People With Hand Disabilities (CONDUITS)
Mina Fedor CA EEG Theta During Self-Directed Versus Passive Spatial Memory Encoding and Retrieval
Victoria Harding Bradley CA Green Ears: A Study of Ultrasonic Acoustic Emissions in Response to Environmental Stressors in Plants
Rory Hu CA The Effects of Pesticides, Caffeine and Tea Polyphenols on the Visual and Olfactory Learning and Memory of the Honey Bee
Landon Huber FL Forged in Fire: Strength and Hardness of Metal
Skye Knox OR Laboratory Testing of Chemical Cloud Seeding
Mahi Kohli KS Identifying Potential Alzheimer’s Biomarkers in Cerebrospinal Fluid
Cooper Kroeker NE Effects of Global Temperature Increase on Aviation
Alexander Montgomery FL The Impact of Different Environmental Conditions on Galvanic Corrosion at Launchpad Structures
Kasey Moore FL The Effect of Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s Claw) in Learning and Memory in Lymnaea stagnalis (The Great Pond Snail)
Luka Nguyen NV Which Mangroves (Mature Plants vs. Immature Propagules) Thrive Better and Are Best Suited for Aerial Reforestation?
Sritej Padmanabhan PA Can Video Analysis of Hand Tremors Aid in Telehealth?
Moitri Santra FL Innovative Engineering Tools for Controlling Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB): Year 3
Sanjan Sarang TX Testing the Impact of Food Ingredients, Consumer Products and Their Packaging on the Human Endocrine System
Mona Schwickert AZ Sun Lotions and Bathing Suit Straps: The Impact Sun Lotions Have on Bathing Suit Straps’ Elasticity
Elizabeth Shen NC Flower Petal-Inspired Computer Memory Leveling via the Golden Ratio
Ethan Shlossberg PA Quail Egg Patterns: Unique to a Quail?
Aryaman Shukla NC Repurposed Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Leaf Mulch Pellets
Emma Simmons MD Portable Bronchodilator Delivery System for Equine Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases
Sarah Simmons MD Portable Bronchodilator Delivery System for Equine Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases
Kai Unwin-Wisnosky PA Are Four Scaled-Down Savonius Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines More Efficient Than a Single-Scaled Wind Turbine of the Same Type?
James Xiao PA The Role of Gut Bacterial Metabolome in Colorectal Cancer (CRC)
Ethan Yan CA Can “One Look” by Machine Detect Acute Leukemia? Classic and Novel Deep Learning-Based Detection Systems for Leukemia
2022 Broadcom MASTERS Winners

Thomas Aldous, 14, Pittsburgh, Penn., won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, for his project designing a robotic hand as well as his leadership, collaboration and critical thinking skills. The prize is a gift of Dr. Henry Samueli, Chairman of the Board, Broadcom Inc., and Chair of the Broadcom Foundation and his wife, Dr. Susan Samueli, President of the Samueli Foundation.

Rory Hu, 12, San Jose, Calif., won the $10,000 DoD STEM Talent Award for demonstrating excellence in science, technology, engineering or math, along with the leadership and technical skills necessary to excel in the 21st Century STEM workforce and build a better community for tomorrow. Rory’s research on honeybees suggests that feeding bees tea polyphenols and caffeine could boost their ability to learn and remember. She also showed that the chemicals might repair some of the harm done by pesticides, which could help dwindling honeybee populations. 

Jeanelle Dao, 13, San Jose, Calif., won the $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention, awarded by The Lemelson Foundation to a young inventor who creates a promising solution to a real-world problem. Jeanelle invented a foot-controlled welcome mat that wirelessly unlocks a door when the user enters the correct code.  The device could help people with arthritis and other hand problems become more self-sufficient.

Elizabeth Shen, 14, Cary, N.C., won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation, an honor made possible by Samueli’s generous donation of his 2012 Marconi Society Prize Award. The finalist demonstrates both vision and promise as an innovator, in the spirit of radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Elizabeth drew inspiration from the way many flower petals grow and the golden ratio to design a system for better managing the wear on a computer’s memory. Over time, many heavily used cells within computers become damaged, and the memory must be replaced. Elizabeth’s system reduces the average number of times cells were accessed, compared to other options.

Mina Fedor, 14, Berkeley, Calif., won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, which recognizes the student whose work and performance shows the most promise in health-related fields and demonstrates an understanding of the many social factors that affect the health of communities. Mina used electroencephalography, or EEG, to measure a certain type of brain activity as people did active and passive learning tasks. Mina’s research, which found that the brain doesn’t substantially differentiate between the two different kinds of learning, could impact the way educators teach. 

Ankit Biswas, A Novel LP-Based Approach to Mitigating Launch Vehicle CO2 Emissions

2022 Broadcom Masters finalists

Learn more about the Broadcom MASTERS Top 30 finalists and meet them here.

  • The top project category is engineering, with six projects.
  • The finalists come from 12 states.
  • The state with the largest number of finalists is Pennsylvania (6), followed by California (5), Florida (5) and North Carolina (3). Maryland, Texas and Utah each have two finalists, and Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas, Nevada and Oregon all have one finalist.
  • Sixteen of the finalists attend public schools, 10 represent private schools, three attend charter schools and one finalist attends a magnet school.
2022 broadcom Masters TOP 300

The Top 300 Broadcom MASTERS in 2022 include

  • 53% identify as girls while 46% identify as boys and 1% as non-binary
  • Representation from 35 states and 2 territories (Guam and Puerto Rico)
  • 17% live in California with 52 students. Florida follows with 35 students (12%), then Texas at 21 (7%), Pennsylvania 17 (6%) and Utah 11 (4%)
  • Top two project categories are Engineering (22%) and Earth and Environmental Sciences (15%)
  • 186 (62%) go to public school, with 84 (28%) in private school and 17 (5.7%) in charter schools. The remaining students are in home, magnet or online schools.

Find a list of all Top 300 here.

US BROADCOM MASTERS ALUMNI