Valley 8th grader named 1 of the top 300 junior innovators nationwide

PHOENIX — Akshay Lakshminarasimhan is just 13 years old and is an eighth grade student at BASIS Scottsdale. But that’s not all. He is also among the top junior innovators in the country.

In September, the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators challenge selected 300 of the top science projects from around the country from nearly 2,000 submissions.

Lakshminarasimhan was one of three Arizona students to be named to the top 300 list, along with two students from Tucson. A total of 57 students from Arizona were invited to apply to the challenge.

How did Akshay Lakshminarasimhan earn a spot on top junior innovators list?

The project that earned Lakshminarasimhan the recognition was titled “Exploring the Interplay Between Earth’s Magnetic Field, Solar Activity, Climate Variability, and Human Settlements (1750-2024),” which he said is a topic that follows multiple global variants over hundreds of years.

“What did I conclude? Well, first, solar activity shows a more pronounced correlation with El Niño-La Niña activity, specifically with El Niño events following solar maxima, typically by a year or so,” he said. “My second conclusion is that geomagnetic field variations actually impact and affect upper atmospheric wind patterns.”

El Niño and La Niña are climate patterns that can affect weather conditions in the United States and lead to dry spells or long periods of precipitation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The solar maxima is the height of the sun’s 11-year cycle, when solar activity is the strongest. This last occurred in October 2024 and was predicted to last for about a year, according to NASA.

Lakshminarasimhan began competing in science fairs in fifth grade, studying the impacts of music on plants. He said that since then, his projects have gotten bigger, leading to this recognition.

“I was actually reading a couple of different news on how the magnetic north pole was actually shifting from Canada all the way to Siberia,” Lakshminarasimhan said. “And that’s had an unpredictable pace. And so, this really intrigued me.”

Young innovator believes recognition will lead to future success

Lakshminarasimhan said being chosen as one of 300 innovators in the United States has allowed him to meet other like-minded kids with whom he could work in the future.

“It feels really nice because one, I get to be part of a greater scientific alumni network. I get a bunch of different friends that I can collaborate on in the future, potentially do different group projects with these different friends. It opens up so many different opportunities for me in the future,” he said.

Akshay wants to publish his research at some point in the future, potentially turning it into a doctoral dissertation.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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