America has finally found its "Top Young Scientist" of 2025.
The Top Young Scientist’ challenge that is held annually, seeks submission of video entries from students in grades 5-8 to win a $25,000 and an exclusive mentorship opportunity with a 3M scientist.
The annual challenge asks students in grades 5-8 to submit a 1–2 minute video for a chance to win $25,000 and an exclusive mentorship with a 3M scientist.
This year the top ten students were finalized, aged between 11 and 14 who spotlighted an everyday problem and offered a scientific solution.
Their proposals range from robotics, home improvement, automotive, safety, climate technology, and AR/VR.
Each year, mentors from 3M, a U.S. mining and manufacturing company, in collaboration with Discovery Education (a multimedia platform for educational content creation), organize the event.
This year, with the assistance of mentor Mark Gilbertson, a 3M senior robotics engineer, Kevin Tang designed “FallGuard,” a fall detection system that can “accelerate emergency responses to falls among older adults at home, even in the dark."
Tang created a smartphone app called "FallGuard" that uses an algorithm to analyze video input, and detect falls, and notify family members.
On top of that, it can spot irregular walking patterns, which could indicate a stroke.
Tang's "new solution advances current offerings on the market through the ability to capture imagery at night and provide around-the-clock monitoring," 3M said in an Oct. 14 statement.
Besides the trophy of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” Kevin Tang will get a cash prize of $25,000 along with a “unique destination trip.”
In the past, many of the 3M alumni have ventured into their own startups after competing in the challenge.
Kevin Tang, an eighth-grader from Cedarlane Academy in Hacienda Heights, California, emerged as the champion of the 2025 Young Scientist Challenge on October 14, 2025.
The competition is designed for middle school pupils in grades 5 through 8 and is held annually by 3M in collaboration with Discovery Education.
The assignment was simple: identify everyday problem and come up with a workable solution.
Every one of the 10 finalists in 3M’s Young Scientist Challenge—including the top three-who participated in this summer mentorship cohort, also earned a $1,000 cash prize for participating in this year's Young Scientist Challenge.
When asked about his goals for the next 15 years, Tang shared his dream of becoming a scientist and creating technologies to help people improve their daily lives: “In 15 years, I hope to be working as an engineer or scientist, creating technology that helps people in their daily lives. I want to keep learning, solving problems, and building things that make a real difference,” as reported by the 3M website.
It's amazing how a 13-year-old kid is so determined to bring a positive impact to people’s daily lives using technology. That spotlights that the future of America is in safe hands, as its young scientists are more focused on solving human-centric problems.
The future definitely lies with these younger minds, who are not only ambitious but also coming up with innovations that humanity needs the most.