This is part of WTOP’s continuing coverage of people making a difference from our community authored by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant. Read more of that coverage.
A Fairfax County, Virginia, teenager wants to help cultivate scientists of the future.
Emma Tukhi, a Robinson High School junior, is part of the first International Research Olympiad, created and run by student science researchers.
In the past, Tukhi said, students grades 6-12 who were looking for research opportunities at local universities and summer programs lacked the research skills to make a practical contributions to such programs. The IRO competition is working to change that.
Tukhi, an associate member of the IRO global competition, said she has joined forces with renowned Harvard researcher Rishab Jain to introduce the groundbreaking competition.
“Our goal is to encourage students to become more interested in scientific research,” Tukhi told WTOP.
The IRO is overseen by the Samyak Science Society, a nonprofit group that promotes science research and stem education.
Tukhi said the student founded and operated IRO started with a group of stem enthusiasts. She said she believes science can be applied to so many fields.
“I feel like it really is the backbone to everything we know, all the knowledge we have about our world and beyond our world.” Tukhi said.
The high school junior said she wants to be a neurosurgeon when she becomes an adult, and is honing her scientific research skills while working toward that career.
The Burke, Virginia, resident is currently a research assistant in the bioengineering department at George Mason University.
“Research is all about investigating. It’s all about critical thinking, analytical skills which you will apply in different areas of life,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to learn and to grow and to meet other students who have similar kinds of interests.”
Emma, the daughter of Ozair and Leena Tukhi, said she and her two sisters head the Girls Who Code Club at their school. There they teach young girls how to code in an attempt to increase their interest in the field of computer science.
Sign ups for the Olympiad are going on now and students from all over the world can compete. More information is available on the International Research Olympiad website ahead of the official registration, which opens up in early February.
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