Colegios públicos de Minnetonka

Last week, Minnetonka senior Tyler Clair presented his research at the National STEM Festival in Washington, D.C. His project was one of 103 selected for inclusion at the event. This isn’t the only national accolade he’s earned this year, though—in January, Clair was named a 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar, one of only 300 students from across the country to be honored with the recognition.

Clair has been involved in research since sixth grade, where he worked with a peer on a project to detect microplastics in local lake water. His Minnetonka Research project during his junior year allowed him to follow his curiosity around chemistry and water treatment; he sought to find ways that biocoagulants (in his project, dried avocado) could be used to remove microplastics from drinking water, rather than chemical coagulants. This year, he is looking at ways food waste could be used as a catalyst to degrade dyes in wastewater.

“I love looking at things that we can change about processes, like water treatment, to then make them more effective and sustainable,” said Clair. “Many projects that I know of do things where they invent a completely new process, but it’s something that isn't feasible on an industrial scale. I have been really focused on environmental engineering and not just the sciences, and I want to look at something that's really applicable.”

Great work, Tyler! 💙⚓

🔗 Read more about Tyler’s research experiences, and their impact on his future plans, on the District website: https://www.minnetonkaschools.org/district/departments/news/features/~board/feature-news-stories/post/student-spotlight-tyler-clair-25-named-regeneron-science-talent-search-scholar