🇺🇸 Raji Doshi

The approach sits inside a real and contested area of climate science known as ocean alkalinity enhancement. The principle is straightforward chemistry: adding alkaline minerals to seawater shifts the carbonate equilibrium, raising pH and increasing the water's capacity to hold dissolved carbon. Aragonite is a naturally occurring crystal form of calcium carbonate and the mineral that corals and many shellfish actually build with, which is why its saturation state is the standard measure of whether a reef can grow or is dissolving. Coupling a mineral buffer with algae — which consume carbon dioxide as they photosynthesise — is an attempt to make the effect durable rather than momentary.

What separates her entry from a classroom exercise is that she insisted on running it as research. "I entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because I wanted to do something real with my research," she wrote. "Studying ocean acidification in a classroom is one thing, but this competition gave me a reason to go further, to actually design an experiment, collect real data, and test whether my idea could hold up under scrutiny."

Her motivation was stated in terms of scale rather than curiosity. "I also entered because climate change feels urgent to me in a way that is hard to ignore," she wrote. "The oceans are absorbing carbon at a rate that is changing their chemistry, and that affects billions of people. I wanted to work on something that mattered, not just something that would earn a grade." She was equally clear about why this particular competition suited the work: "It is not just about having a good idea. It rewards students who communicate science clearly and think about real-world impact."

That instinct — that measurement is the bottleneck — also shaped her answer when asked to name a favourite invention of the last hundred years. She chose the autonomous underwater vehicle, citing the carbon-neutral ocean drones developed by organisations such as Saildrone and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "These AUVs allow scientists to collect real-time data on ocean chemistry, pH levels, and CO₂ absorption in remote and challenging environments — critical for understanding and addressing ocean acidification. Their ability to operate autonomously for months at a time makes them game-changers for monitoring the health of our oceans."

Through the summer of 2026 she works with Deborah Isabelle, a Product Engineering Specialist in 3M's Automotive Aftermarket Division who develops new products and chairs the company's Science Encouragement Program — a mentor whose day job is turning a promising idea into something that survives manufacture, which is precisely the gap between a working experiment and a deployable coastal system.

Her ambition reaches past the water. "In 15 years, I hope to be a NASA aerospace engineer designing systems that monitor ocean health and climate change from space," she wrote. "My research taught me that the most significant climate breakthroughs happen when different fields work together, and I want to build the tools that make that possible." Her chosen quotation is blunter: "Work hard in silence, let your success make the noise." On 12–13 October 2026 she presents at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, where one finalist takes $25,000 and the title of America's Top Young Scientist.