Innovative Minds: Shrey Arora

West Collierville Middle School | 8th grade | 14 years old

FreshMate

About the Idea

Meet Shrey. Shrey created FreshMate, a smart fridge device that tracks food expiration dates and helps families reduce waste, save money, and make smarter choices right from their kitchen.

Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?

I entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because I love solving real-world problems with technology. Food wastage is a huge problem and I wanted to create an easy affordable solution to help people, like my family, to reduce wastage and to help our planet. This challenge is a great opportunity to share my ideas, learn from experts, and gain experience through innovating and problem solving.

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

My favorite invention from the last 100 years is 3D printing. I find it fascinating because it allows you to bring your ideas to life by putting something together in CAD and being able to print it. 3D printing has helped me with many projects such as making replacement parts for items, making mounts or stands for devices, making my 3M invention, or just printing stuff that is super cool – my favorite is a hybrid between a octopus and Dwane the Rock Johnson. I feel like 3D printing is becoming way more affordable and really has power to transom many different aspects of life.

In 15 years I hope to be...

In 15 years I would love to thrive in a career that I enjoy, likely in the STEM and innovation field. I want to work on projects that solve real world problems and use critical thinking and creativity - both things that I enjoy. By teaming up with people who think the same way, I could help to make a positive impact on our world!