Teens Make Device That Filters 94% of Microplastic Using Ultrasound

Imagine drinking a glass of water that carries the invisible remnants of grocery bags, synthetic clothes, or broken-down bottles. Now imagine doing that every day—because in a way, you already are.

Scientists estimate that the average person unknowingly consumes up to five grams of microplastics each week—the equivalent of swallowing a credit card. These tiny plastic particles are not just polluting oceans and rivers; they’re drifting through the air, settling in our lungs, and embedding themselves in our bloodstreams. From the summit of Mount Everest to the food on our plates, microplastics have become an unavoidable part of modern life.

For years, the solutions to this creeping contamination have felt frustratingly out of reach—too complex, too costly, or too inefficient to truly work at scale. But in a quiet suburb of Texas, two teenagers asked a deceptively simple question: What if sound could be the answer?

Their journey, and the device they built, offers not only a breakthrough in science but a powerful reminder that innovation doesn’t always come from the top down. Sometimes, it begins with a school project—and a refusal to accept that the world’s biggest problems are someone else’s responsibility.

Why Microplastics Matter Now More Than Ever

Microplastics are everywhere—literally. Found in the deepest parts of the ocean and at the peaks of the highest mountains, these microscopic fragments of plastic are so pervasive that they’ve been detected in rainwater, soil, table salt, and even human organs. Their size—less than 5 millimeters—makes them nearly invisible to the naked eye, but their impact is anything but small.

Many microplastics originate from the breakdown of larger plastic waste, like bottles and packaging, while others are intentionally manufactured as microbeads used in cosmetics or industrial processes. Over time, sunlight, friction, and environmental exposure grind these plastics into particles that are too small for most filtration systems to catch—but small enough to infiltrate our bodies.

The health implications are becoming harder to ignore. A 2024 study from the University of New Mexico found microplastics in the brains, livers, and kidneys of mice after just four weeks of exposure. These findings raise troubling questions about long-term human exposure, especially as plastics have been found in breast milk, blood, lungs, and reproductive tissues. Chemicals commonly used in plastics—like phthalates, bisphenols, and flame retardants—have been linked to hormone disruption, fertility issues, developmental delays, and increased cancer risk.

This isn’t just a health crisis—it’s an environmental one, too. Microplastics accumulate in waterways and soil, disrupting marine ecosystems and contaminating the food chain. Fish and shellfish ingest them, birds mistake them for food, and the particles often end up back on our plates. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that humans may ingest around 2,000 microplastic particles every week, a consequence of the invisible pollution we’ve woven into our daily lives.

What makes this threat particularly urgent is its persistence. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade in any meaningful timeframe—it just keeps breaking down into smaller and smaller particles. Even if all plastic production stopped tomorrow, the microplastics already released into the environment would continue to circulate for generations.

A New Generation of Problem Solvers

At a time when global environmental issues often feel paralyzingly complex, stories like that of Justin Huang and Victoria Ou serve as a powerful counterpoint—a reminder that meaningful solutions can come from places we least expect. The two 17-year-olds from Woodlands, Texas, didn’t wait for a research grant or a government directive to address one of the planet’s most pressing pollution problems. Instead, they turned their curiosity—and a school science project—into an award-winning innovation with real-world potential.

Their journey began not in a high-tech lab, but during a visit to a local wastewater treatment plant. As they brainstormed ideas for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), they asked a straightforward question: How do these facilities deal with microplastics? The answer shocked them—they don’t. Because microplastics are not currently regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most treatment plants lack the equipment to remove them. That gap sparked a question that would soon become their mission: Could they create something that would work?

Working out of their homes, the teens engineered a device about the size of a pen that uses ultrasonic sound waves to remove microplastics from water. Their approach—redirecting particles using acoustic pressure instead of physical filters—proved to be a breakthrough. In lab tests, their device removed between 84% and 94% of microplastics in a single pass, a success rate that rivals or surpasses far more complex systems.

But what makes their achievement truly remarkable isn’t just the technology—it’s their mindset. Huang and Ou approached a planetary crisis not as passive observers, but as problem-solvers. They didn’t view their age as a limitation; they saw it as an asset. Their resourcefulness, paired with a determination to address a real-world issue, earned them the prestigious $50,000 Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations at ISEF, along with first place in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category.

The Science Behind the Solution

At first glance, Justin Huang and Victoria Ou’s device looks deceptively simple—roughly the size of a pen and powered by household components. But beneath its unassuming appearance lies a sophisticated application of acoustic physics that could revolutionize how we filter water.

The duo’s invention relies on ultrasound technology, a method that uses high-frequency sound waves to create pressure within a flowing stream of water. As water passes through a narrow tube fitted with two stations of electric transducers, the device emits ultrasonic waves that generate what scientists call acoustic radiation force. This force doesn’t just move through the water—it acts on the particles within it.

Here’s where the innovation comes in: instead of relying on a traditional physical filter to trap microplastics (which can clog, wear out, or require regular replacement), the ultrasound waves push microplastic particles away from the outflow path, allowing cleaner water to exit while the contaminants are subtly redirected and collected elsewhere. This non-contact, energy-efficient method helps prevent common issues associated with conventional filters—like clogging or maintenance overhead—while capturing even very small plastic particles.

The teens tested their device using three common microplastics: polyurethane, polystyrene, and polyethylene—materials that are widely found in packaging, synthetic textiles, and consumer goods. In controlled lab settings, their prototype removed 84% to 94% of microplastic contaminants in a single pass. That level of effectiveness is particularly significant considering the device’s size and simplicity—an improvement over prior ultrasonic filtration concepts, which often struggled with performance or scale.

While ultrasound isn’t new in scientific research, Huang and Ou’s design distinguishes itself through clever engineering rather than costly infrastructure. It doesn’t require extensive power, exotic materials, or an industrial lab to function. This balance between accessibility and effectiveness gives the device potential far beyond science fairs. It could be adapted for use in household appliances, such as laundry machines (a major source of synthetic microfibers), or scaled for industrial applications, such as textile plants or municipal water systems.

Crucially, the pair’s approach offers a low-waste, chemical-free alternative to existing filtration technologies. Methods like chemical coagulation—which bind microplastics into clumps—can alter water’s pH and introduce new pollutants. Physical mesh filters, while helpful, often miss the tiniest particles and can degrade over time. In contrast, an acoustic-based solution avoids these pitfalls while still achieving high capture rates.

Though still in its early stages, the device’s scientific foundation is sound. And with additional refinement—potentially in better-equipped labs with access to advanced materials—the teens believe it could be optimized for broader deployment. As Huang noted, “This is the first year we’ve done this… If we could refine this—maybe use more professional equipment, maybe go to a lab—we could really improve our device and get it ready for large-scale manufacturing.”

From Prototype to Possibility

Turning a bright idea into a functional, real-world solution is rarely a straight path—especially when that idea is born in a teenager’s home instead of a high-tech lab. Yet, despite limited resources and the novelty of their approach, Justin Huang and Victoria Ou have managed to push their ultrasonic filtration device from concept to tangible achievement—and they’re not stopping there.

Their invention first captured national and international attention at the 2024 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where they not only took home first place in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category but also earned the prestigious Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations, along with $50,000 in prize money. That recognition didn’t just affirm the promise of their technology—it opened a door to refine it further with better equipment, mentorship, and professional-grade testing.

But beyond the accolades lies something far more important: potential. The teens’ design isn’t just clever—it’s scalable. Because the device doesn’t rely on filters that wear out or chemicals that pollute, it’s a low-maintenance, adaptable solution. In theory, it could be embedded into a wide range of settings:

• Municipal wastewater treatment plants, where current infrastructure often fails to catch microplastics;
• Industrial textile facilities, where synthetic microfibers are a major source of plastic pollution;
• Rural water systems, which typically lack advanced filtration resources;
• Even household-level applications, such as laundry machines and fish tanks, where microplastic runoff is a common issue.

This versatility is critical. One of the biggest barriers to existing filtration technologies is their lack of flexibility—many require extensive retrofitting, high energy input, or regular maintenance. Huang and Ou’s ultrasound device challenges that standard, offering a compact, efficient, and non-intrusive alternative.

Still, the road to deployment is long. The current version of the device was built with basic materials and tested outside of formal lab conditions. To scale it for widespread use, the team knows they’ll need to undergo rigorous validation, navigate regulatory hurdles, and refine the engineering for durability and mass production. But they’re clear-eyed about the work ahead. As Ou explained, “This is a pretty new approach… we found only one study that was trying to use ultrasound to predict the flow of particles in water, but it didn’t completely filter them out yet.”

What This Means for the Rest of Us

Their journey demonstrates that change doesn’t always begin in government halls or corporate boardrooms—it can start in a high schooler’s kitchen, a garage, or the back row of a science fair. It challenges the myth that innovation must be big, expensive, or complicated. Sometimes, it’s about asking a better question, spotting what others overlook, and refusing to accept the status quo as unchangeable.

For the rest of us—parents, educators, engineers, policymakers, or simply concerned citizens—this story is a call to action. It asks us to shift how we view young people and how we invest in their potential. When students are given the tools, the space, and the belief that their ideas matter, they don’t just learn about the world—they start to shape it. Programs like ISEF are powerful precisely because they validate this kind of thinking, offering mentorship and visibility alongside financial support. But more of these platforms are needed, especially in communities where talent too often goes unnoticed or unsupported.

It’s also a reminder that we each have a role to play. Whether that’s reducing our own plastic use, supporting science education, mentoring young innovators, or pushing for stronger environmental policies, the takeaway is clear: waiting for change is no longer a luxury we can afford. As microplastics silently infiltrate our air, water, and bodies, we need solutions that are proactive, scalable, and inclusive—and we need them now.

The brilliance of Huang and Ou’s invention lies not just in the science, but in what it symbolizes. It’s a blueprint for how ingenuity and empathy can intersect to confront real-world problems. It’s proof that when young people are empowered to tackle challenges, they often do so with a clarity and tenacity that defy expectations.

Their device may still be a prototype, but its message is fully formed: We all have something to contribute, no matter our age, background, or resources. The future isn’t waiting. It’s already being built—quietly, creatively, and sometimes by the people we least expect.