Portuguese 
Spanish 
Research started in high school led a student from Rio Grande do Sul to science fairs in Brazil and the United States, by transforming agricultural waste into biodegradable materials and gaining international recognition in a trajectory linked to sustainability, biotechnology, and scientific dissemination.
Juliana Davoglio Estradioto, from Osório, Rio Grande do Sul, gained international prominence at the age of 18 by transforming agro-industrial waste into biodegradable materials during her technical high school at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, IFRS.
At science fairs in Brazil and the United States, the student saw her projects gain recognition beyond the school environment and earned the right to associate her name with an asteroid, according to Pesquisa FAPESP magazine.
The journey stood out for bringing together school research, sustainability, and applied science in an unusual way for pre-university students, with experiments based on peels that would normally be discarded by the food chain.
-
Three-Year-Old Brazilian Boy with IQ of 142 Joins Mensa, Excelling in Reading, Math, and Memory Skills
-
Argentina to Use 2026 World Cup to Pressure Over 13,000 Child Support Debtors, Warns They May Be Banned from Stadiums
-
Man Who Lost Vision Due to Lack of Roads Invests Fortune in Building 59 km Route, Ending 1,300 Years of Isolation in Brazilian Village and Boosting Tourism and Jobs
-
São Paulo Invests Millions in Massive Reservoirs to End Decades of Water Shortages, Providing Relief to Residents
Instead of relying on rare inputs or a sophisticated structure from the start, Juliana investigated alternatives for passion fruit and macadamia nut waste, seeking applications less dependent on conventional plastic.
Research with macadamia won world science award
Presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Intel ISEF, the project with macadamia nut took Juliana to Phoenix, United States, in May 2019, for one of the world’s leading pre-university science fairs.
In the general awards of the event, organized by the Society for Science & the Public in partnership with the Intel Foundation, she received the First Award in the Materials Science category for the work “The Universe in a Nutshell: Bacterial Cellulose Membrane Using Macadamia Byproduct”.
The study investigated the use of macadamia byproduct in the production of bacterial cellulose membranes, a biopolymer analyzed as an alternative to synthetic materials in different areas.
According to the summary registered in the Society for Science database, the processing of the nut generates about 75% byproduct, and agro-industrial waste can be used in biotechnological processes to create alternatives to synthetic polymers.
Through Pesquisa FAPESP, Juliana explained that the nut shell served as food for microorganisms capable of producing microbially sourced cellulose, a material that became the focus of the investigation.
From this production, the student evaluated possible uses of the material as a substitute for plastic and also in biomedical applications, including dressings, due to the properties associated with bacterial cellulose.
Before the international stage, the same work had already received recognition in Brazilian competitions and consolidated a research line focused on the reuse of agro-industrial waste.
At the Brazilian Science and Technology Fair and the International Science and Technology Fair, Mostratec, held in October 2018, first place in Environmental Management guaranteed the student participation in the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, the SIYSS.
Passion fruit peel paved the way for biodegradable materials
Before investigating macadamia, Juliana had already brought another agricultural waste to science fairs: the passion fruit peel, often discarded after the fruit is processed.
While still in high school, she developed a biodegradable plastic from this material, in a project that went through the Brazilian Science and Engineering Fair, Febrace, and reached the Intel ISEF in 2017.
That year, the Society for Science registered the work “Development of a Novel Biodegradable Plastic Film with Passiflora edulis’ Byproduct” among the awardees of Intel ISEF 2017.
Linked to the IFRS Campus Osório, the research received fourth place in the Environmental Engineering category, a result that reinforced the student’s presence in scientific competitions before the recognition obtained with macadamia.
The starting point was a known problem in food production: after the industrial use of the pulp, the passion fruit peel usually loses value and is discarded.
By transforming this waste into biodegradable plastic film, the proposal indicated a path for packaging and other products less dependent on synthetic polymers, maintaining a focus on waste utilization.
According to Pesquisa FAPESP, the work with passion fruit also earned Juliana recognition in the Young Scientist Award, one of the Brazilian competitions aimed at encouraging research developed by students.
With the sequence of projects, the young woman consolidated an investigation based on the valorization of waste, a theme that spanned experiences in national and international fairs and expanded her scientific activity.
Science fairs expanded the trajectory of the gaucho student
Juliana’s education took place in the technical course in administration integrated with high school at IFRS Campus Osório, on the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul.
To Pesquisa FAPESP, she reported that she came from a city in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul and had never seen a laboratory before coming into contact with science fairs and research opportunities.
In this journey, Febrace played a decisive role by putting the student in contact with researchers, evaluation panels, and projects from different areas while still in school.
Through the fair, Juliana traveled by plane for the first time in 2017 to present a project at the University of São Paulo, USP, an experience that paved the way for scientific events and new partnerships.
The advisor Flávia Twardowski, a food engineer from IFRS, appears as one of the main supporters of the projects and followed the development of the research from the school stages.
To advance the experiments, Juliana told Pesquisa FAPESP that she needed to adapt the investigation to the available conditions and establish a partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, especially when she needed to use laboratories outside the campus.
The contact with biotechnology also changed the student’s relationship with science, an area that until then did not occupy the same space in her school routine.
She told the publication that she did not like biology in high school, but became interested in the subject upon realizing that microorganisms could produce useful materials for clothing, packaging, and biomedical applications.
Asteroid named after Juliana became a symbol of recognition
After the award at Intel ISEF, Juliana received the right to have her name associated with an asteroid, in an initiative linked to the fair and the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT.
In the interview, the student stated that the naming process was long and that specialists would define the final format of the name, a necessary step before the officialization of the tribute.
Although it has become the most curious detail of the journey, the asteroid does not solely concentrate the relevance of the case, which began with school research, technical guidance, and waste utilization.
The experience shows how projects developed in high school can transform discarded peels into objects of scientific investigation, provided that students have access to fairs, guidance, and support networks.
With the visibility achieved, Juliana also began to engage in scientific dissemination and initiatives aimed at encouraging the presence of girls in areas such as biotechnology, chemistry, and materials science.
According to Pesquisa FAPESP, she got involved in actions to show other students that research can start before university, even in public schools and cities outside major centers.
Be the first to react!