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High School Bee Researcher
Aakash Manaswi is a 10th-grade researcher, inventor, and speaker from Orlando, Florida. At 12, he started looking for a chemical-free alternative to Varroa mite treatment in honeybee colonies after learning that the most common pesticide treatments leave chemical residues in honey and beeswax.
He designed and built the "Mite Blower," a CO2-based treatment system that eliminates Varroa mites without introducing chemical residues into hive products, conducting the research under the mentorship of USDA researcher Dr. Charles Stuhl and 3M scientist Rodrigo Marmol. In a 10-week field trial across 60 hives, the system matched conventional pesticides in mite elimination and outperformed them in measures of bee health and honey production.
That work earned him the First Place Grand Award in Animal Sciences and the Peggy Scripps Top Award for Science Communication at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2026, a Second Place Grand Award in Animal Sciences at ISEF 2025, and a spot among America's top 10 young scientists through the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. He is published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Apicultural Research, presented his findings on pollinator health at COP30 in Brazil, and is working with Florida state legislators on pesticide policy. His research has been covered by Spectrum News, Fox 35, Yahoo News, and international outlets across multiple continents.
He also co-founded the International Youth STEM Society (IYSS), a nonprofit running workshops and open-access curriculum for young researchers across 25 countries, reaching 1,500+ students through 100+ officers worldwide. Manaswi is a Featured Exhibitor at the 2026 National STEM Festival in Washington, D.C.
