About NYAS's TJA

For more than 200 years, the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) has brought together extraordinary people working at the frontiers of discovery. Among the oldest scientific organizations in the United States, the Academy has become an important and widely- respected contributor to the international scientific community.

Each year, the New York Academy of Sciences, part of NYAS, selects an international cohort of passionate high school students (ages 13-17) to become part of The Junior Academy (TJA), who join a dynamic global network of like-minded peers and mentors. Students collaborate virtually as they compete in project-based challenges focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Intelligent Homes & Health: Health Sync

As the team leader of six individuals from Sweden, USA, the Philippines, and Australia, we won this international competition in the autumn of 2019. Our extensive solution involved incorporating preventative health-promoting aspects, as well as tracking and monitoring people's health in their day-to-day lives. The prize for winning was an all-included trip to the STEM Alliance Summit to present the project in the summer of 2020. However, due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Nevertheless, I did not loose my spirit! Which I will talk about next.

Combating COVID-19: United in Crisis

For the Combating COVID-19 competition, my team and I from Sweden, Turkey, and the USA worked together to develop a technology-based solution to address the obstacles faced by governments, healthcare providers, and economies during the pandemic. Our project, United in Crisis, focused on solving the strain on universal healthcare facilities while addressing the increased unemployment caused by the pandemic and other economic changes. We suggested utilizing AI/ML models to analyze the resumes and profiles of unemployed individuals, aiming to best match them with courses or programs required to change careers into professions in high demand. We believe this solution can help alleviate the burden on healthcare systems while also addressing the needs of those negatively impacted by the pandemic.