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Thirty Outstanding Middle School Scientists, Engineers and Innovators Named Finalists in Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge

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Representing 14 states, finalists will compete in Washington, D.C., for more than $100,000 in awards

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Society for Science today announced the 30 finalists in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC), the nation’s premier middle school science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competition. The Thermo Fisher JIC, a program of Society for Science, aims to inspire young scientists, engineers and innovators who will solve the grand challenges of the future.

The 30 finalists were selected by a nationwide panel of scientists, engineers and educators from the Top 300 Junior Innovators announced earlier this month. The finalists will participate in Thermo Fisher JIC Finals Week (Oct. 25–30) in Washington, D.C., where a panel of judges will evaluate their scientific research along with their communication, creativity and collaboration skills during team challenges.

“Congratulations to the Top 30 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News. “Their innovative projects showcase the bright future of STEM. These young people remind us of the importance of nurturing scientific curiosity from an early age and investing in STEM education.”

Thermo Fisher’s sponsorship of the Junior Innovators Challenge continues its longstanding commitment to widespread and equitable access to STEM education. Together with Society for Science, Thermo Fisher is helping to increase the number of students who enter the competition and nurture a future STEM talent pool that is more diverse than ever.

“This year’s Thermo Fisher JIC finalists and their impressive projects serve as inspiration to any young person with an interest in STEM,” said Dr. Karen Nelson, Chief Scientific Officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “As a company committed to nurturing a STEM workforce that reflects the world around us, we hope all finalists bring this remarkable experience back to their communities to help spark passion and confidence among future competitors.”

Thermo Fisher JIC finalist fast facts:

They represent 14 states, led by California and Texas.The most popular project category is Environmental & Earth Sciences.More than half identify as female.

A full list of the finalists can be viewed here: https://www.societyforscience.org/jic/2024-finalists/

Thermo Fisher JIC reaches 65,000 students annually through the Society’s Affiliated Fair Network. Students who are named in the top 10% of their local affiliated science fair are eligible to enter the Thermo Fisher JIC, the only middle school STEM competition that leverages Society-affiliated science fairs as a critical component of the STEM talent pipeline. All finalists receive a $500 cash award and will participate in the Thermo Fisher JIC Finals Week in Washington, D.C., where they will compete for the following awards:

$25,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific ASCEND (Aspiring Scientists Cultivating Exciting New Discoveries) Award, which will go to the student who demonstrates mastery of all STEM fields and exemplifies how research, innovation and teamwork come together to impact our everyday lives.$10,000 Broadcom Coding with Commitment® Award, presented to a finalist whose project and performance combines expert STEM knowledge and passion for helping or improving one’s community through computation/coding.$10,000 DoD STEM Talent Award, which will be awarded to a finalist who demonstrates excellence in science, technology, engineering or math, along with the leadership and technical skills necessary to excel in the 21st century STEM workforce.$10,000 Lemelson Foundation Award for Invention, awarded by The Lemelson Foundation to a young inventor creating promising solutions to real-world problems.$10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, which recognizes the student whose work and performance show the most promise in health-related fields and demonstrates an understanding of the many social factors that affect the health of communities.First and Second Place Awards issued in each category of STEM of $3,500 or $2,500, respectively, to be used toward a STEM summer camp experience.Team Award, sponsored by Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES), which awards a $200 gift card to a science supply company in support of their interests in STEM to each member of the team that best demonstrates an ability to work together and solve problems through shared decision making, communication and scientific and engineering collaboration.

Thermo Fisher JIC recognizes finalists’ schools with $1,000 each to use toward STEM activities.

About Society for Science
Society for Science is a champion for science, dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Established in 1921, Society for Science is best known for its award-winning journalism through Science News and Science News Explores, its world-class science research competitions for students, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, and its outreach and equity programming that seeks to ensure that all students have an opportunity to pursue a career in STEM. A 501(c)(3) membership organization, Society for Science is committed to inform, educate and inspire. Learn more at www.societyforscience.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (Society4Science).

Contact:
Gayle Kansagor
gkansagor@societyforscience.org

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Muyuan Foods Group, a Global Leader in Pig Farming, to Showcase Smart Pig Farming and Green Development Solutions at EuroTier 2026

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HANOVER, Germany, Nov. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From November 10 to 13, Muyuan Foods Group (002714.SZ/02714.HK) will participate in EuroTier 2026 in Hanover, Germany. As a global leader in pig farming, Muyuan marketed 77.98 million pigs and slaughtered 28.66 million pigs in 2025. At Booth J04 in Hall 15, Muyuan will showcase integrated solutions across two key areas: Smart Pig Farming and Green Development.

Smart Pig Farming: This section will focus on pig house upgrades, biosecurity management, and intelligent equipment. Smart pig houses enable precise control of environmental parameters, while more than 30 types of intelligent equipment across five categories, including inspection robots and intelligent feeding systems, integrate key production operations into digital management systems. These solutions help improve operational efficiency, optimize costs, and drive the development of standardized and precision-driven farming practices.

Green Development: This section will feature solutions for environmental management, sterilization and deodorization, and renewable energy. Muyuan achieves 100% resource utilization of livestock manure, promoting the crop-livestock cycle and supporting a circular agricultural model. Sterilization and deodorization technologies continuously improve the farming environment, while renewable energy solutions contribute to carbon reduction and emissions mitigation. In 2025, Muyuan achieved carbon emission reductions of 6.06 million tons across its entire value chain, demonstrating its commitment to low-carbon and sustainable development.

Together, these two areas provide customers with a comprehensive, one-stop solution covering the entire pig farming process.

Throughout the exhibition, Muyuan’s international business team will provide multilingual technical presentations, one-on-one business consultations, and live demonstrations of intelligent equipment. Muyuan warmly welcomes industry professionals and partners from around the world to visit Booth J04 in Hall 15. Let us work together to advance the high-quality development of the global livestock industry and explore new opportunities for cooperation!

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SOURCE Muyuan Foods Group

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Home Companion Robot Mobo to Debut Globally and Open Pre-orders as AiMOGA Showcases Its Robot Family at the 2026 OMODA & JAECOO International User Summit

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WUHU, China, Nov. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As AI becomes part of everyday family life, how will it transform the homes of the future? The 2026 OMODA & JAECOO International User Summit, co-presented by CHERY, OMODA|JAECOO, ICAUR, Lepas and AiMOGA, took place in Wuhu from October 19 to 24 under the theme “DRIVE TO THE NEXT VIBE.” During the summit, AiMOGA Robotics officially launched Mobo—its consumer-grade humanoid robot for home companionship—and opened global pre-orders. The launch took embodied AI into the home, extending proven automotive-grade technologies and supply-chain capabilities beyond vehicle manufacturing to a broader ecosystem of intelligent living.

Meet Mobo: A Thoughtful, Expressive and Caring Companion. A key highlight of the summit, Mobo makes its global debut with pre-orders opening worldwide. Having previously appeared at the World Robot Conference and the World Manufacturing Convention, it has already drawn strong interest. Powered by AiMOGA’s proprietary MoAgent AI brain, Mobo goes beyond rigid single-command responses: it independently breaks down complex instructions and plans long-horizon tasks, turning Q&A into goal-driven assistance. Designed for family life, it combines spatial perception with multimodal interaction—autonomous navigation, dynamic obstacle avoidance, and voice-plus-vision conversation that identifies objects and makes companionship feel natural. With a full-body motion system of 22 degrees of freedom, it delivers smooth movements and dance routines, remembers each family member’s habits and preferences, and builds in privacy protection from the outset—a companion blending advanced technology with warmth and care.

Bringing Automotive Expertise to Robotics. Unlike start-ups building from scratch, AiMOGA draws on the extensive automotive engineering experience and global R&D network of CHERY and its brands—OMODA|JAECOO, ICAUR and Lepas—adapting proven technologies, including high-precision environmental perception and automotive-specific large AI models, for robotics. During the summit, its full robot portfolio will appear in zones recreating real-world applications: police robots patrolling mock traffic settings, healthcare robots guiding visitors, Mornine acting as an AI presenter, the Argos Pro quadruped demonstrating following and load carrying, and Mobo offering hands-on demonstrations as pre-orders open. AiMOGA already operates robots across more than 100 use cases—from dealerships and retail to traffic management, security, education and healthcare—with cumulative deliveries exceeding 3,000 units across more than 60 countries and regions.

Beyond Automotive Manufacturing. As these brands move from vehicles into robotics, they extend accumulated R&D, supply-chain and manufacturing expertise to wider intelligent applications; automotive–robotics integration provides the industrial foundation, while the MoAgent brain supports understanding, planning and execution. Guided by the philosophy “In Somewhere, For Somewhere, Be Somewhere,” CHERY, OMODA|JAECOO, ICAUR, Lepas and AiMOGA are bringing intelligent technology into everyday life and delivering meaningful support to people worldwide.

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SOURCE OMODA & JAECOO

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CassTime Unveils AI-Driven “T+D Solution” to Tackle Data and Repair Bottlenecks in the Global Automotive Aftermarket

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LAS VEGAS, Nov. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the recently concluded AAPEX 2026, more than 45,000 professionals from 128 countries and regions and over 2,500 exhibitors gathered in Las Vegas, a clear sign of sourcing demand across the global automotive aftermarket. At the same time, a long-standing industry challenge has become harder to ignore: as vehicle model counts keep climbing and model refresh cycles shorten, global repair networks are commonly facing difficulties in parts data matching, fragmented supply sources, low quotation efficiency, and insufficient repair technical capabilities.

In response to these bottlenecks, Li Li, CEO of International Business at CassTime, introduced an AI-driven “T+D Solution” at the 2026 CassTime Partner Conference. T refers to Digital Trade, which connects supply with overseas procurement demand through the CassChoice platform; D refers to an intelligent localized service platform, which uses PartGrid to bring parts matching, repair support, and insurance claims assessment capabilities to local markets. The solution has already been put into practical operation in markets such as Saudi Arabia.

Industry Bottlenecks: Data Matching and Repair Capability Are Global Challenges

Li Li noted that channel and market-access conditions vary significantly across regions: the Middle East has many new vehicle models and a growing number of supply channels; Brazil has a complex channel and market-access system; Central Asia’s supply channels are being restructured; and North America has mature certification and channel requirements for branded parts. The common challenges are concentrated in four areas: data matching, supply stability, quotation and delivery efficiency, and local repair service capability. Insufficient data leads to matching difficulties, fragmented demand leads to unstable supply, and local repair capabilities are difficult to build up quickly.

“After decades of development, the automotive aftermarket has formed a complete supply chain system, and CassTime has also built a digital system covering the entire value chain,” Li Li said. “We hope to translate proven digital practices into a holistic solution that can be implemented overseas, covering both parts and repair services.”

Li Li emphasized that China’s auto parts industry has been tempered through intense competition and has long built a comprehensive domestic supply chain. In particular, its parts SKU coverage for Chinese-brand vehicles is especially complete: Chinese vehicle models have a large installed base and rapid update and iteration cycles. Leveraging deep accumulation in the local market, CassTime has formed the industry’s most complete coverage in parts data, VIN decoding, and repair cases for Chinese-brand vehicles. This is also the foundation of the T+D Solution. Supported by this most complete Chinese-brand vehicle SKU database, wherever Chinese-brand vehicles go in the world, CassTime can bring along the parts supply and repair experience already proven in China, enabling overseas partners to share the best practices of China’s supply chain.

CassChoice: Digital Trade to Solve Supply-Demand Matching Challenges

In traditional procurement scenarios, when a customer submits demand for hundreds of thousands of SKUs, it usually requires manual order splitting, separate inquiries to multiple suppliers, quotation consolidation, and delivery in batches—a long and inefficient process. The CassChoice system can automatically break down demand, generate batch quotations, track order status, and output reports. The relevant data can also be used for demand tracking and analysis—a direct manifestation of using AI and digital tools to solve “difficult data matching and fragmented supply.”

According to CassTime, its overseas platform has accumulated more than 5 million SKUs—with particularly complete SKU data for Chinese-brand vehicles—and can generate quotes in seconds for more than 10,000 SKUs. On the supply side, CassChoice connects factories, brands, and distributors, helping overseas customers complete sourcing, procurement, and local delivery, and efficiently matching fragmented supply with fragmented demand on a digital platform.

PartGrid: AI Agents to Fill Local Repair Capability Gaps

To address matching challenges caused by the large number and rapid updates of vehicle models, PartGrid integrates CassTime’s VIN decoding system to help local partners achieve precise matching just as they would in China, reducing error rates. Multilingual communication is handled by AI, enabling barrier-free interaction. The platform can use formats such as WhatsApp Chatbot to connect with local users, adapting to the usage habits of small repair businesses and end users.

Beyond parts circulation, PartGrid also provides three AI agent service capabilities: an AI Repair Master, which synchronizes accumulated repair data and cases to local markets to help solve technical difficulties, especially overseas repair of Chinese vehicle models; an insurance claims assessment agent, which combines real-time fault analysis, parts matching information, and labor-hour estimation to support efficient implementation of insurance business; and an AI Seller, which provides accurate and timely quotations around the clock. Together, these three capabilities form a localized service loop of “parts + repair + insurance,” directly addressing the industry bottleneck of “repair capability falling behind.”

Saudi Arabia Case: Localized Operations Starting from Claims Scenarios

CassTime’s partner in Saudi Arabia is a Middle East technology company that manages insurance business. Its digital platform, Tamam, handles related business for nearly half of Saudi Arabia’s insurance companies. The two parties began their cooperation with online access in claims scenarios: through PartGrid, the partner’s platform connects local car owners, workshops, and the supply chain to enable digital tracking and management of the process; through CassChoice, it connects supply, opening up the parts value chain from source to end user.

On this basis, the cooperation has three expansion directions: extending application scenarios from claims to more end-user demand; as workshops adoption and business volume grow, more local suppliers join the platform; and upstream factories, brands, and distributors connecting to supply.

At present, CassTime has advanced implementation in the Middle East and is extending the mature model to Central Asia, South America, and other regions, accelerating the construction of a global parts service network. CassTime stated that it will continue to rely on AI and digital capabilities and work with local partners to jointly build a sustainable overseas service ecosystem.

About CassTime

CassTime Holding Co., Ltd. ( “CassTime”) is a leading digital intelligence platform for the automotive aftermarket in China. It is committed to building AI-enabled digital infrastructure for all participants across the automotive aftermarket value chain, driving the industry’s upgrade toward digital intelligence, standardization and efficient collaboration. The company focuses on auto parts trading, supply chain integration, digital intelligence management for workshops and end-consumer vehicle owner services. It has built a full-value-chain ecosystem covering upstream OEMs and auto parts manufacturers, auto parts distributors, auto service workshops and car owners.

Media Contact

Ben Chan
General Manager, North & South America
Email: ben.chen@casstime.com 
Phone: +86 186 6512 3710

Related Links

CassChoice – China Auto Parts, Direct Supply Worldwide

https://www.facebook.com/people/CassTime/61595799821591/

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SOURCE CassTime

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