Shoreline student named one of Top 30 finalists in 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge

Andrew Sun-Zhuang with his VisionStrike baseball pitching machine

Andrew Sun-Zhuang, an eighth-grade student at The Evergreen School in Shoreline, Washington, was recently named one of the Top 30 finalists nationwide in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, a prestigious national middle school STEM competition. 

The Top 30 were selected from the Top 300 from 17 states and Puerto Rico and competed in Washington D.C. October 23-28, 2026.

Andrew's project, VisionStrike, is a portable, AI-powered baseball pitching machine inspired by a problem he experienced as a young baseball player: the difficulty of getting consistent, realistic batting practice.

He designed, built, and programmed the machine to automatically identify a batter's personalized strike zone and deliver pitches to different locations, including strikes and balls. His goal is to make effective batting practice more accessible and affordable for young players.

Andrew has been passionate about baseball and robotics for many years, and this project allowed him to combine those interests to solve a real-world problem.

View a four minute presentation with Andrew and his VisionStrike.

Andrew is the first student in the Shoreline area to be named a Top 30 finalist nationwide in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. 

View the information page on Andrew and his invention.