Shillong, Oct 16: One Aurihonta Das, a Class 10 student of Star Public School Campus, Lumshnong, in East Jaintia Hills, has been awarded the prestigious Child Scientist Award at the 12th National Level Exhibition and Project Competition (NLEPC) INSPIRE-MANAK 2026 in New Delhi.
Selected among the National Top 60 child scientists across India, Aurihonta has qualified for the prestigious Sakura Science High School Program in Japan, organized in collaboration with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). During this international visit, he will interact with Nobel laureates, visit leading Japanese universities, and explore advanced research laboratories.
Working under the mentorship of his guide teacher, Abhisek Banerjee, Aurihonta developed an innovative project titled “Best from Waste Like Tetra Pack”. Unlike conventional recycling, which recovers only basic paper pulp, Aurihonta’s closed-loop, triple-resource recovery system utilizes selective delamination to separate high-value polyethylene, aluminium, and paper layers from complex multilayer packaging. The innovation addresses severe environmental landfill accumulation and supports a circular economy.
The school management, Principal, and faculty commended Aurihonta and his mentor for bringing national and international acclaim to East Jaintia Hills and Meghalaya.
