Innovative Minds: Hanna Suzuki

John Glenn Middle School | 8th grade | 14 years old

Audio Augmentation for Celestial Objects: Sonifying Constellations and Mapping their Sound Logos onto the Night Sky

About the Idea

Meet Hanna. Hanna created an AR experience by using a constellation sonifer to scan AR markers that would identify the data through sound.

Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?

I entered this challenge because it allows me to explore further into the scientific field and acquire new knowledge and skills. I truly enjoy that. It also motivates me to combine my interests, such as astronomy, music, coding and electronics, to work on something fun and new.

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

My favorite invention is mechanical pencils! I use them every single day and definitely like them more than regular pencils. Mechanical pencils are very functional because they allow users not to worry too much about breaking the tip and sharpening it all the time. They also do not break easily, so if you have one functional, good mechanical pencil, you will be able to use it for a very long time as long as you have lead. Mechanical pencils have evolved dramatically over the past years. Some have comfortable grips to help avoid hand cramps, some make sure that the tip almost never breaks, and some even have a lead-spinning mechanism that keeps the tip sharp for writing. There is so much variety for mechanical pencils for different purposes, and I think that they are such a useful tool that deserves to be praised!

In 15 years I hope to be...

A scientist or engineer who explores data sonification.