By Ariel Schwartz

It's STEM on steroids. These kids are making huge advancements in their fields, despite the fact that they aren't even old enough to vote.

On Wednesday, 16 year-old Jack Andraka outdid himself: after creating an incredibly cheap, accurate, and easy-to-use pancreatic cancer sensor, the young scientist announced onstage at TED that he is developing a Star Trek-style tricorder along with a handful of other Intel International Science and Engineering Fair finalists. Impressive as Andraka's accomplishments are, he's not the only brilliant kid in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) space.

While STEM education is a legitimate crisis in the U.S (especially among young women), take some comfort in the fact that geniuses in the next generation are still rising to the top and doing some impressive things. Check out the kids doing STEM on steroids in the slideshow above--and imagine how many others there might be if more than one in four high schoolers were interested in pursuing a STEM career.

Comments