Innovative Minds: Aiden Jo

The Village School | 8th grade | 14 years old

Squeeze-gami: Folding Our Way to Recycle a container

About the Idea

Meet Aiden. Aiden invented Squeeze-gami, an origami-inspired solution that flattens completely to reduce waste and improve sustainable packaging.

Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?

I entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because the challenge allows students in Middle school to showcase their innovative ideas to a community, and I have always wanted to share my research and findings with other passionate students. I also saw this challenge as an opportunity to learn from other students - solutions while improving my deep thinking skills and scientific knowledge when developing my project. Furthermore, I saw this opportunity as a platform where I could advance my project to the next level and bring my model into people's daily lives, creating a lasting impact. Overall, I knew that the 3M Young Scientist Challenge was the great place to start my scientific and engineering journey.

What is your favorite invention of the last 100 years, and why?

My favourite invention of the last 100 years is the 3D printer and it has had a global impact on society. Although it may seem not as significant as the internet, it has truly changed the way people create products, prototypes and useful items. The accessible machine allows people to easily create innovations at a cheap cost while promoting creativity in young children. It has also introduced our world to new methods of production by being able to print with virtually any material imaginable. Furthermore, food printing has been one of the rising technologies introduced following the prevalence of 3D printers. In the near future, 3D printing could help our planet survive naturalxxx disasters, battle climate change, and improve overall quality of life.

In 15 years I hope to be...

I hope to become an Environmental engineer that works towards creating revolutionary solutions for crucial environmental problems. From a young age, I have enjoyed building legos and engineering my ideas while cherishing wildlife and nature in my surroundings. This sparked my interest in becoming an Environmental engineer. In the future, I aspire to work with a team of passionate individuals, who each have unique qualifications and ideas, and create a lasting impact on society and our natural world through my innovations.