Meet Nathan Montelongo, seventh-grader who used shellfish waste to clean water

A fishing trip along the Rio Grande led a La Joya, Texas, seventh-grader to investigate whether discarded shellfish shells could help remove pollution from water. Nathan Gael Montelongo became interested in the problem after a local fisherman warned him that recent fish catches had been found to contain excessive microplastics. According to Nathan’s profile on the Society for Science, he eventually developed chitosan powder from shellfish shells collected from local restaurants and tested its ability to remove pollutants from water. His project went further, with experiments involving Rio Grande samples, zebrafish embryos and a prototype raft that could monitor water quality and release chitosan when needed. The project earned Nathan a place among the 30 finalists of the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.A fishing trip sparked the ideaNathan's project began with an experience that connected a local environmental concern with a material that is often discarded.