Semifinalist Karishma Muthukumar, an 18-year-old studying cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine, says she never expected her submission to get this far in the competition. “I know a lot of other submissions were done by professors, by entire labs or entire departments,” Muthukumar says, “but I think my idea, [coming from someone] who doesn’t actually have a degree yet, will promote the idea that anyone can do science.”

For the full story, please visit https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/06/what-big-ideas-will-shape-us-science-over-next-decade-here-are-some-contenders.