The teen from San Jose, California, dug deeper, discovering in her research that harmful pesticides can damage the honey bees’ learning and memory. Impaired bees can鈥檛 harvest pollen well and have a hard time finding their way back to the hive.

With the help of a local beekeeper, Hu set out an experiment to mollify these effects. She created artificial flowers tinged with caffeine and a food supplement called T-Polyphenol. The experiment intended to use the compounds to improve the bees鈥� memories. Her experiment worked. The bees thrived. 

Rory won the Department of Defense STEM Talent Award of $10,000 for her experiment at the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS, a national science and engineering competition for middle school students. 鈥淜nowing that I would even be able to have a small part in [solving the problem],鈥� she says, 鈥渋t would be extremely gratifying to me.鈥�

Click here to see & share Hu鈥檚 story 鈥� and check out this other recent coverage of teenagers breaking new ground in STEM: 

• Florida Teen Invents World鈥檚 First Sustainable Electric Vehicle Motor
• 14-Year-Old Wins $25,000 Prize For Robotic Hand He Built For Less Than $100
• Meet the 16 Under 16 in STEM Achievers

鈥擯roduced & Edited by Jim Fields