Hawaii Teen Discovers Coconut Fungi Can Filter Ocean Plastic and Sunscreen, Wins Science Fair
Vera Wang, a senior at Kaiser High School in East Honolulu, has discovered that fungi found in coconut husks possess the ability to biodegrade plastic and sunscreen. This breakthrough earned her multiple awards at the Hawaiʻi State Science & Engineering Fair and qualified her for the International Science & Engineering Fair. Wang's research began during her sophomore year when she designed an ocean filter made from coconut byproduct waste, inspired by traditional Polynesian weaving, to remove pollutants from surface water. Realizing the need for responsible disposal of these pollutants, she explored the fungal communities within coconut husks. Her experiments in Anthony Amend’s lab at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa revealed that these fungi can decompose sunscreen and plastic. Genetic testing further indicated that some of these fungal species might be previously uncharacterized, as they did not match any entries in the world's largest reference database of known genes and genomes. The presence of tann... 
