14 Year Old Wins $10,000 for Train Derailment Research
Gary Allen Montelongo, a 14-year-old, won $10,000 and the Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. His project investigated how deteriorated train suspension springs contribute to derailments, inspired by a major derailment in Ohio in February 2023. Montelongo built model train tracks with different types of springs and tested the effects of vibration on derailment, discovering that worn-out springs caused instability, especially with unevenly loaded trains.
Montelongo’s interest in railway safety began during a university internship, and his hands-on research incorporated mechanical engineering and coding, including building his own accelerometer to measure vibration. His findings align with data from the Federal Railroad Administration, which reports over 1,300 train derailments yearly in the U.S.
A high school freshman and aspiring mechanical engineer, Montelongo dreams of designing spaceships for NASA or SpaceX.