TNJSF JEI Award Winner: Neel Ahuja

Neel Ahuja attends Millburn High School and was motivated by his community’s experiences with widespread per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination and lack of accessibility to affordable water purification systems. Neel therefore set out to address this issue by researching low-cost methods of water purification through phytoremediation, a method where plants can be used to purify contaminants. In his study, Neel observed how hydroponic plants colonized by beneficial mycorrhizal fungi could purify PFAS-contaminated water. Neel’s work demonstrated that plants colonized with mycorrhizal fungi could purify 71.1% of PFAS in a water system, demonstrating a low-cost, effective water purification system.

When determining whether the roots of the plants he used were successfully colonized with mycorrhizal fungi, Neel was initially met with challenges. However, after many rounds of meticulous trial-and-error, he was able to obtain the results necessary to continue his study. While reflecting on his experience presenting at TNJSF, Neel shared that his ability to communicate his research greatly improved. Moreover, Neel also shared that he learned to appreciate the need to communicate his research findings and its significance to a wide-range of audiences.

Congratulations to Neel and his success at TNJSF! We can’t wait to see what he does next!

The material on this page was prepared by Hannah Thompson, JEI Managing Editor and Claire Otero, JEI co-Editor in Chief. Neel Ahuja provided the photo and answers to standard questions which were lightly edited for clarity.