Fourteen-year-old Portlander competes to be ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’

Isha Marla is a 14-year-old with a love for science who recently finished her last year at Tumwater Middle School in the Beaverton School District. She is also just one of 10 students in the nation, and the only one from Oregon, who made it to the finalist round of a national science competition sponsored by Discovery Education and 3M, which manufactures a vast array of products, from Post-It Notes to stethoscopes. 

The 3M Young Scientist Challenge is open to middle school students who for this year’s competition submitted a short video to describe their scientific solution to a real-world problem. Marla’s entry focuses on using a material she made from seaweed and other ingredients to produce an environmentally sustainable fabric for making clothes. Her proposal aims to counter the phenomenon of fast fashion associated with brands like Shein, H&M and Uniqlo that are popular with consumers eager to buy the latest fashion trends at low prices. But chasing those trends at bargain prices can take a heavy environmental toll, with nearly two-thirds of discarded clothes ending up in a landfill, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Marla joins us for more details about her entry and chance to win a cash prize and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” this fall.