{"id":26538,"date":"2026-09-20T09:58:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T09:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=26538"},"modified":"2026-09-20T09:58:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T09:58:38","slug":"meet-kianoosh-nawai-the-west-virginia-eighth-grader-who-built-a-low-cost-3d-printed-bionic-hand-and-became-his-states-only-finalist-in-a-national-stem-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=26538","title":{"rendered":"Meet Kianoosh Nawai, the West Virginia eighth-grader who built a low-cost 3D-printed bionic hand and became his state\u2019s only finalist in a national STEM contest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134365054,imgsize-59076,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovators-challenge.jpg\" alt=\"Meet Kianoosh Nawai, the West Virginia eighth-grader who built a low-cost 3D-printed bionic hand and became his state\u2019s only finalist in a national STEM contest\" title=\"Nawai has been selected as one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Nawai has been selected as one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge\">Nawai has been selected as one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kianoosh Nawai, an eighth-grader at West Virginia Virtual Academy, wanted to explore how technology could help people with disabilities. His project led him to design and build a 3D-printed prosthetic hand that aims to offer a lower-cost option for people who have lost a limb.<!-- --> Now, the project has taken him to the national stage.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>Nawai has been selected as one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, a national STEM competition for middle school students. According to Society for Science, he was the only student from West Virginia selected as a finalist from nearly 2,000 entrants across the country.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>His project, titled \u201cDesign, Optimization and Evaluation of a Low-Cost, Compact Bionic Hand for Functional Restoration and Accessibility,\u201d focuses on how a prosthetic hand can reproduce some of the movements of a human hand while keeping the design more affordable. <!-- -->To develop it, Nawai studied how the human hand works, particularly the tendons that help the fingers flex and extend.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>The project also has a personal connection for him. Nawai&#8217;s younger sister uses a cochlear implant, which made him interested in the role of assistive technology. \u201cWatching how this type of bionic technology helps her hear and communicate made me realize how powerful assistive devices can be,\u201d he says. At the same time, he became interested in the limitations of existing technology and the cost of prosthetics for people who need them.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>How the 3D-printed hand works<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>Nawai used a 3D printer to make the prosthetic hand. Instead of using biological tendons, he used pulling line as the hand&#8217;s \u201ctendons\u201d. Thermoplastic polyurethane was used to provide resistance and help control the movement.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>Nawai tested different versions of the hand and measured their grip strength and the force needed to flex each finger. <!-- -->He used a force gauge for these measurements. Based on the results, he changed several parts of the design, including the pulling lines, the position of the pivots, the geometry of the joints and other components.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>This testing was important because Nawai wanted to see whether it could perform a basic function consistently. His final design can grip objects consistently.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>The work is still developing. Nawai hopes to eventually power the hand with an actuator so it can generate the force required for movement. <!-- -->He also wants to study how different hand movements can be produced while using power efficiently.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Nawai's younger sister uses a cochlear implant, which made him interested in the role of assistive technology.\" msid=\"134365098\" imgsize=\"145904\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"Nawai's younger sister uses a cochlear implant, which made him interested in the role of assistive technology.\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-145904,msid-134365098\/nawais-younger-sister-uses-a-cochlear-implant-which-made-him-interested-in-the-role-of-assistive-technology.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Nawai&#8217;s younger sister uses a cochlear implant, which made him interested in the role of assistive technology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Building his own parts<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>Nawai&#8217; has been taking things apart and rebuilding them since he was five. He also applies the same approach to motocross, or off-road motorcycle racing.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>\u201cI constantly analyze performance, solve problems, and make small adjustments to improve both my riding and my bike,\u201d he says. He has used his engineering skills to upgrade the motor on his bike and has also used his 3D printer to design and print parts for it.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Apart from motocross, Nawai enjoys road biking and gravel biking. His interest in anatomy and regenerative medicine has also shaped his future plans. He hopes to become a surgeon.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/>His work on the bionic hand was recognised through the West Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair. The state&#8217;s 2026 official results list Nawai in the medical sciences division for his project on bionic technology and regenerative medicine.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Nawai to compete in Washington<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>Nawai will now take his project to Washington, DC, where the 30 finalists will take part in the final week of the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge from October 23 to 28.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>The competition is organised by Society for Science and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The finalists will be judged not only on their science research projects but also on collaboration and critical thinking during team challenges.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/>All 30 finalists will receive $500. They will also compete for more than $100,000 in awards, including the $25,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND Award.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/science\/discovery\/meet-kianoosh-nawai-the-west-virginia-eighth-grader-who-built-a-low-cost-3d-printed-bionic-hand-and-became-his-states-only-finalist-in-a-national-stem-contest\/articleshow\/134364866.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nawai has been selected as one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Kianoosh Nawai, an eighth-grader at West Virginia Virtual Academy, wanted to explore how technology could help people with disabilities. His project led him to design and build a 3D-printed prosthetic hand that aims to offer a lower-cost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Nawai has been selected as one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Kianoosh Nawai, an eighth-grader at West Virginia Virtual Academy, wanted to explore how technology could help people with disabilities. His project led him to design and build a 3D-printed prosthetic hand that aims to offer a lower-cost [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nawai-has-been-selected-as-one-of-30-finalists-in-the-2026-thermo-fisher-scientific-junior-innovator-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}