{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-student-js","path":"/annual-challenge/finalists-mentors-judges/finalists/millie-pradawong-2026-finalist","result":{"data":{"student":{"aboutIdea":["Millie designed a computational tool that predicts how gene editing can redirect microalgae metabolism to produce more biofuel while balancing growth and efficiency."],"age":14,"challengeMotivation":["I entered because I wanted to take an idea stuck in my head and turn it into something more serious. I kept thinking about microalgae biofuel because it sounds so promising: algae can grow quickly, absorb carbon dioxide, and produce oils that can be used as fuel. But then I learned that making a biofuel system actually work is much harder than just saying \"use algae.\" That made the project more interesting to me. I wanted to focus on the hard part which is how to increase oil production without hurting growth. The 3M Young Scientist Challenge seemed like the right place to test whether I could explain that idea clearly and make it matter to people who may not already know about microalgae or CRISPR."],"cardImage":"Millie-Pradawong-2026-Finalist-Card.jpg","flag":"Finalist","dreamOcupation":["In 15 years, I hope to be a physician scientist. I want to work with patients as a doctor, but I also want to keep asking research questions because I like the part of science where the answer is not obvious yet. I am interested in biology because it is never as simple as I first expected. There is always another layer. I hope I am working on problems where medicine, biotechnology, and real human needs meet. I also hope I am still the kind of person who gets excited by a strange question and follows it further than I planned."],"favoriteInvention":["My favorite invention of the last 100 years is CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. I think it is fascinating because it changed what scientists can do with DNA. Before learning about CRISPR, I thought of DNA mostly as information. CRISPR made me realize that DNA could also be edited in a much more targeted and meaningful way. The part I find most interesting is that CRISPR came from bacteria. It was not invented out of nowhere. Scientists noticed a system bacteria already used to defend themselves and turned it into a tool for research, medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. I like that because it shows how many useful ideas might already exist in nature, but we have to notice them first."],"ideaName":["MACRO: Machine Learning-Augmented CRISPR Reprogramming Optimization"],"mentor":{"prefix":"","name":"Aditya Banerji","jobTitle":"Research Specialist","cardImage":"Aditya-Banerji-Mentor-Headshot-CARD_435x264.jpg","shortDescription":["Aditya Banerji is a Research Specialist in 3M’s Corporate Research Process Laboratory. He specializes in developing and commercializing products and is a co-inventor on 16 3M invention submissions, resulting in 4 pending patent applications"],"slug":"aditya-banerji"},"quote":["\"A good invention starts when something promising still has a problem nobody has solved well enough.\""],"quoteImage":"Millie-Pradawong-2026-Finalist-Quote.jpg","schoolGrade":"8th","schoolName":"Thoreau Middle School","youtubeVideo":"","guidVideo":"853e377f-b174-41b1-916b-177730eef494","firstName":"Millie","lastName":"Pradawong","tag":"2026 Finalist"}},"pageContext":{"slug":"millie-pradawong-2026-finalist"}},"staticQueryHashes":["1877358583","2853049992","340814223","3432942819","4119215080","4285582392"]}