Earlier this year, Minnetonka High School senior Tyler Clair was named a 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar. He is one of only 300 students from across the country to earn the honor. 

Clair has been involved in research since sixth grade, where he worked with a peer on a project to detect microplastics in local lake water. His Minnetonka Research project during his junior year allowed him to follow his curiosity around chemistry and water treatment; he sought to find ways that biocoagulants (in his project, dried avocado) could be used to remove microplastics from drinking water, rather than chemical coagulants. This year, he is looking at ways food waste could be used as a catalyst to degrade dyes in wastewater. 

Last year, he earned places at state, national and international competitions to share his research with others. In 2024, he competed for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize as well as at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), in addition to applying for and earning the Regeneron STS honor, which was announced in early 2025. The presentation process in all fairs required stamina, he noted, as during some days, he was sharing his research in a fair setting from 8:00am to 4:30pm. Research has also developed his perseverance and problem-solving skills, as well as his ability to look at roadblocks as opportunities. “My teacher Mr. Burns always says if you're not running into any problems, you're doing something wrong. Part of research is the process of, when something doesn't work, taking a step back and asking why. Then you change it, and continue to approach it in new ways until you get some data that makes sense.”

Other researchers, both judges and fellow student competitors, have inspired him along the way. “When I went to ISEF last year, it was really cool to be there with 1,700 people from around the world,” said Clair. “I met people from Taiwan, which is where my family's from, and I got to speak to them in Chinese.” Clair spoke with many people about their areas of passion, and he had the opportunity to learn about the many different scientific categories outside of his environmental engineering niche. “There are 20 categories within ISEF, from chemistry to animal sciences, and in all of those categories, I was able to learn about research ideas I hadn’t considered before.”

During his time at Minnetonka High School, Clair also competed through DECA, and he remains interested in ways that bringing a business mindset to research can allow science to move out of the lab and into the real world. “I love looking at things that we can change about processes, like water treatment, to then make them more effective and sustainable,” said Clair. “Many projects that I know of do things where they invent a completely new process, but it’s something that isn't feasible on an industrial scale. I have been really focused on environmental engineering and not just the sciences, and I want to look at something that's really applicable.” He has also been a leader in Minnetonka High School Student Government.

To others considering becoming involved in science fair competitions or research projects in general, Clair shares enthusiastic encouragement. “I think that the more people and unique perspectives we can get, the closer we can get to solving big world issues and getting new kinds of ideas into different fields like chemistry and biology,” said Clair. “In all those areas, we need a lot more help and a lot more effort toward progress. So, you just need to be motivated and doing something you're passionate about, and the rest will come to you, as you move forward and as you work with others.”

After graduation, Clair plans to study a combination of chemistry, environmental engineering and chemical engineering, following his curiosity around water treatment and sustainability.