What she did
The first Google Science Fair was judged in July 2011 and divided into three age categories. Slate, reporting on the winners, recorded that Shah, from Oregon, took the 15-16 category for work that "explored the link between air pollutants in respiratory diseases". The research record for this page describes her finding more specifically: that cleaner indoor air can reduce a patient's reliance on asthma medication.
The judging that year placed her alongside Lauren Hodge of Pennsylvania, who won the 13-14 category with a study of marinades and the harmful compounds produced by grilling chicken, and Shree Bose of Texas, who took the grand prize for research on drug resistance in ovarian cancer. All three later spoke together on a TED stage about award-winning teenage science.
Writing to the government
What separates Shah's project from a good school experiment is what she did with the result. Slate reported that in the spring of 2011 she sent her suggestions for revisions to the Clean Air Act to President Obama and to Lisa Jackson, then the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The magazine added a single deadpan line: she had not heard back. Yet.
That is the instinct of a researcher rather than a competitor. Indoor air quality sits awkwardly in American environmental law, which is built largely around outdoor emissions, and a teenager writing to the regulator about the gap was making a policy argument, not collecting a rosette.
The Oval Office
On 4 October 2011 the White House blog recorded that President Obama had welcomed science fair winners to the Oval Office. Shah was among them, at 16.
The visit belonged to a wider push by that administration to give science competitions the visibility usually reserved for school sport, including a White House Science Fair. For a student who had written to the president about the Clean Air Act in the spring and heard nothing, being received in his office in the autumn was a tidy piece of timing.
What came next
The research record notes a further result: Best of Category in Environmental Sciences at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2013, the largest pre-college science competition in the world, listed by the Society for Science. Winning at Intel ISEF two years after the Google prize marks her out from the many science-fair winners whose record is a single strong year.
She also appeared with Hodge and Bose in a TED talk on award-winning teenage science in action, which remains the most widely seen record of the three projects.
What is documented, and what is not
The sources establish the category win, the subject, the letters to the president and the EPA, the Oval Office visit and the 2013 ISEF award. They do not give her date of birth; the research record lists 1995, consistent with being 16 in 2011.
Nothing gathered here documents her university, her career or her current work, and the name is a common one, so this page makes no attempt to identify her with any adult of the same name. Those gaps are listed below rather than filled.
Watch: Naomi Shah on camera
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lauren Hodge | United States | Winning the 13-14 age category of the first Google Science Fair, in 2011… | Age 14 |
| Naomi Shah | United States | Winning the 15-16 category of the first Google Science Fair | Age 16 |
| Sophie Healy-Thow | Ireland | Co-winning the Google Science Fair grand prize in 2014 | Age 16 |
| Viney Kumar | Australia | Winner, 13-14 category, Google Science Fair 2013 | — |
| Calvin Rieder | Canada | 2015 Google Science Fair global finalist | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- She won the 15-16 age category at the first Google Science Fair in 2011 (Slate)
- Her project examined the link between air pollutants and respiratory disease
- She sent proposed Clean Air Act revisions to President Obama and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson in spring 2011 (Slate)
- She was among the science fair winners received in the Oval Office on 4 October 2011 (White House blog)
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No source read states her date of birth
- The exact method and sample size of her study are not given in the sources read
- Nothing documents her studies or career after 2013
Questions people ask about Naomi Shah
What did Naomi Shah win?
The 15-16 age category of the first Google Science Fair in 2011, for work on the link between air pollutants and respiratory disease.
How old was Naomi Shah at the time?
Sixteen. Slate placed her in the 15-16 category, and the research record gives a birth year of 1995. No source read states her date of birth.
Did she really write to President Obama?
Slate reported that in spring 2011 she sent suggested revisions to the Clean Air Act to President Obama and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, and had not received a reply.
Did she meet the president?
Yes. The White House blog recorded on 4 October 2011 that Obama welcomed science fair winners, including her, to the Oval Office.
Who else won that year?
Lauren Hodge took the 13-14 category and Shree Bose won the grand prize for work on drug resistance in ovarian cancer.
What did she do afterwards?
The research record lists a Best of Category award in Environmental Sciences at Intel ISEF in 2013.
Is Naomi Shah on Wikipedia?
The research record found no standalone Wikipedia article about her.
Where is Naomi Shah now?
No source gathered here documents her university or career. The name is shared by other people, and this page makes no link to any of them.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Naomi’s story?
Which category did Naomi Shah win at the 2011 Google Science Fair?
Whom did she send her Clean Air Act suggestions to?
What was her project about?
Sources
- President Obama Welcomes Science Fair Winners to Oval Office — The White House (archived blog), 2011-10-04
- How the Google Science Fair Girls Found Their Calling — Slate, 2011-07-14
- Intel ISEF 2013 (Best of Category, Environmental Sciences) — Society for Science, 2013
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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