12-Year-Old Genius Earns $25,000 Prize for Revolutionary Fire-Detection Invention That Outpaces Traditional Smoke Detectors

12-year-old Shanya Gill has emerged as the winner of a national science competition for her innovative fire detection device. Unlike traditional smoke detectors, Gill’s device utilizes a thermal camera to detect fires more rapidly. Gill expressed her intention to use the $25,000 prize money to bring her invention to the market.

The inspiration for Gill’s device came after a nearby restaurant burned down last year, which deeply affected her and her family. Determined to prevent such incidents in the future, Gill developed a fire-detection device that can identify fires faster than conventional smoke detectors. The device also sends a text message to users to alert them of a fire. Her efforts were recognized by the judges at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, where she was awarded the top prize out of 65,000 middle schoolers.

Gill’s fire detector incorporates two main components: a thermal camera and a Raspberry Pi, which is a small single-board computer. By coding the Raspberry Pi with Python, Gill enabled the thermal camera to provide images for analysis. The device is designed to differentiate between thermal readings moving horizontally, such as people or animals, and thermal readings traveling vertically, like smoke rising.

Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the Society for Science, an organizing partner of the competition, praised Gill’s device, stating that it detects fires earlier than traditional smoke detectors.

Gill plans to use the prize money to take her fire detector to the market. She also intends to donate any leftover funds to charities that support individuals affected by fires. Gill’s project stood out among 65,000 participants due to its innovation, collaborative approach, and her leadership skills.

The competition began with 65,000 middle schoolers who competed regionally. Approximately 6,000 students were nominated to proceed to the national competition, with around 2,000 typically applying to compete. After multiple rounds of judging, the pool of participants narrowed down to 30 top finalists who attended the national science fair. This places Gill and her fellow finalists in the top 0.04% of competing students.

Ajmera highlighted that the 30 finalists were evaluated based on their projects and their performance in surprise challenges conducted in pre-assigned teams. Expert practitioners in the STEM field judged the students. Ajmera commended Gill for not only having a brilliant project but also displaying leadership, collaboration, and critical thinking skills throughout the competition. She expressed excitement about Gill’s future journey in the field and beyond.