Raymond Wang: The $75,000 Fix for Aeroplane Cabin Air

Biography

What happened in Pittsburgh

Intel ISEF 2015 ran from 10 to 15 May at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Roughly 1,700 young scientists had been selected from 422 affiliated fairs and represented more than 75 countries, regions and territories. About 600 finalists went home with prizes.

The Gordon E. Moore Award is the top prize of the fair, named for the Intel co-founder, and it carried $75,000. In 2015 it went to Raymond Wang of Vancouver, Canada, then 17, for a project listed as Aircraft Cabin Airflow: Curbing Disease Transmission. Two Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards of $50,000 each went to Nicole Ticea, 16, also of Vancouver, for a low-cost disposable device for point-of-care HIV testing, and to Karan Jerath, 18, of Friendswood, Texas, for work on subsea oil-spill remediation.

The problem he took on

An aircraft cabin is a sealed tube in which several hundred people share a recirculated air supply for hours. When one passenger is infectious, the pattern of air movement inside that tube determines who else is exposed. Wang's project addressed that pattern directly rather than treating it as fixed.

The solution described in the coverage used here is a fin-shaped device fitted inside the cabin that increases the amount of fresh air reaching passengers and redirects air carrying pathogens away from them. The appeal of the approach is that it modifies existing aircraft rather than requiring new ones: a retrofit that changes the airflow geometry is a far cheaper intervention than redesigning a ventilation system.

The TED talk

In November 2015, still 17, Wang gave a TED talk titled How germs travel on planes, and how we can stop them. The talk is the most accessible account of the work and the reason most people have heard of it: the science fair award was reported in trade and education press, while the talk reached a general audience.

The sequence matters. A prize at a science fair is a judgement made by specialists about a piece of work; a TED talk is the work explained to everyone else. Doing both inside six months, at 17, is unusual, and it is the part of Wang's record that distinguishes him from the many strong ISEF finalists whose projects never leave the convention centre.

What is documented, and what is not

Firm: the award, its value and the year; his age, 17, and home city, Vancouver; the project title; the scale of Intel ISEF 2015; the other top award winners; and the TED talk and its title.

Not documented in the sources used here: his exact date of birth, which is why the birth year on this page is derived from his reported age; his school; whether the airflow device was patented, tested by an airline or adopted commercially; and what he has done since 2015. The sources record an award and a talk, not a career.

What ISEF is, and why the Moore Award matters

The International Science and Engineering Fair is the largest pre-university science competition in the world, and its structure is unusual: entrants qualify through a chain of local and regional fairs, 422 of them in 2015, rather than by applying directly. By the time a project reaches the top award it has been judged repeatedly by different panels.

The Gordon E. Moore Award is the single largest prize on offer and goes to one project a year. Winning it at 17 places Wang in a very small group. What the record here does not settle is the question that matters most for a public-health invention: whether it was ever built into an aircraft. Nothing in these sources says that it was.

Achievement Timeline

Raymond Wang — every milestone on this page, in order.

10-15 May 2015

Intel ISEF is held in Pittsburgh with Intel ISEF is held in Pittsburgh with about 1,700 finalists from more than 75 countries, regions and territories

May 2015

Raymond Wang, 17, of Vancouver wins thRaymond Wang, 17, of Vancouver wins the Gordon E. Moore Award and $75,000 for his aircraft cabin airflow project

November 2015

Gives a TED talk, How germs travel on Gives a TED talk, How germs travel on planes, and how we can stop them

Historical Comparison

Person	Country	Milestone	Age / Stat
Roberta Battaglia	Canada	A Golden Buzzer and a finals place on America's Got Talent season 15	Age 11
Finola Hackett	Canada	Runner-up at the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee	Age 14
Nelson Sexton	Canada	Creating the Steam survival game Unturned at 16	Age 16
Raymond Wang	Canada	At 17 he redesigned the air inside an aeroplane cabin, and won the fair's	Age 17
Ayla Tesler-Mabé	Canada	Viral guitar covers; Fender endorsee	—

What is documented — and what is not

✓ Documented

Gordon E. Moore Award and $75,000 at Intel ISEF 2015
Aged 17, from Vancouver, Canada
Project title: Aircraft Cabin Airflow: Curbing Disease Transmission
TED talk in November 2015: How germs travel on planes, and how we can stop them

? Unverified, disputed or wrong

Date of birth and school are not stated in these sources
Whether the airflow device was patented, tested or adopted is not documented
No information here on his studies or work after 2015
The device is described only in general terms in this material

Questions people ask about Raymond Wang

How old is Raymond Wang?

He was 17 at Intel ISEF in May 2015. No source used here gives his date of birth, so the birth year on this page is approximate.

What did Raymond Wang invent?

A fin-shaped device for aircraft cabins that increases the fresh air reaching passengers and redirects air carrying pathogens away from them, presented as Aircraft Cabin Airflow: Curbing Disease Transmission.

How much did he win?

$75,000, the Gordon E. Moore Award, the top prize at Intel ISEF 2015.

What is Intel ISEF?

The largest pre-university science competition in the world. The 2015 edition drew about 1,700 finalists selected through 422 affiliated fairs from more than 75 countries, regions and territories.