By: Kimberley Perez
Junior Madison Wong was recently recognized for her invention at the LA County Science and Engineering Fair, where she represented our school. She won special recognition for her enhancement of the Tenaculum, an instrument used to implant birth control. Her replacement for this would have the same efficacy and efficiency without causing the patient any pain.
“I went through months of drawing out blueprints, making prototypes, and testing my final prototype. Once I settled on a simple design that can be easily manufactured, I started testing, trial by trial, on my engineered cervix model,” Wong said.
Her invention will help improve women’s medicine and reduce gender and wage gaps in medical treatment.
“It felt exhilarating to win those awards, to hear the judges call my name and the title of my project! At first, I did not believe that I won anything, let alone three awards,” Wong said.
Wong has been going to competitions for the last couple of years and doesn’t plan to slow down. She has always been determined to help people and keep improving her skills in science.
“She won the special recognition award from the U.S. Metric Association, the Grand Prize Scholar Award from the David Park Foundation, and placed 3rd overall in Engineering Applications for the Senior Division,” Science Teacher Tripti Shah said, proud of her student.
Madison has been interested in science ever since she was young. She has always wanted to improve medicine and make it more accessible to everyone.
“I am fueled by how much change I want to see in this world, especially in medicine,” Wong said. “I feel like there should be more initiatives to make medicine more approachable and accessible.”
Wong has been working hard at her dream and it clearly pays off. Wong is currently competing at the State Science Fair and continues to wow the judges.
“There were over 800 projects [and] 400 schools present. I won the award, Honorable Mention in Applied Mechanics and Structures Category,” Wong said.
As she continues to compete, she also plans to continue her research and application of what won her the science fair award.
“I am excited to see how far my project will go,” Wong said. “I’m currently trying to get a preliminary patent on my tested prototype.”
There is much more to come from Wong, and she knows nothing will be able to stop her dream of improving the world of science and technology.
The Plaid Press 