Eighth-grade student Ellie Lou Olvera, from Santa Barbara Charter School’s HomeBased Partnership, has won the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.
Olvera traveled to Washington, D.C., this week for the finals of this national competition for young scientists. She was one of 30 students nationwide who were invited to the finals.
Olvera’s focus is on how to combat period poverty, which affects one-quarter of our population.
She experimented with different types of reusable and absorbent materials — including six eco-friendly sample fabrics she made from natural fibers such as bamboo, cotton and hemp — to find the best, inexpensive and biodegradable pad for menstruation.
Her hard work and innovation have earned her a $10,000 award at the prestigious national competition.
For more, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ4cfqMtiQU and
https://www.societyforscience.org/jic/2023-student-finalists/elizabeth-louise-olvera/.