Meet Moroti Adegboyega: Canada’s 2026 Stockholm Junior Water Prize Winner

Turning Plastic “Magnetic”

At the centre of Ecoferroquatics is an idea that sounds almost counterintuitive: making plastic respond to a magnet. Moroti became interested in research involving ferrofluid, a liquid containing magnetic nanoparticles, and began exploring whether that science could be adapted to help remove plastic from water. Rather than applying the concept only to small samples, he began thinking about how it could be incorporated into an autonomous cleanup system.

The system uses an onboard camera and artificial intelligence to identify plastic in the water and determine how the robot should respond. The collection system then uses magnetic materials to help capture and remove the targeted plastic from the water.

Moroti describes the science behind it in remarkably simple terms:

“Essentially, in simple terms, I can turn plastic magnetic. And once they are magnetic, all it takes is a simple magnet to pull them out of the water.”

Watch: How Can You Make Plastic Magnetic?

Learning by Building

Perhaps one of the most compelling parts of Moroti’s story is how much of the project he learned while developing it. When he began, his strongest background was in software and coding. He had significantly less experience in robotics, physics, water science or environmental engineering.

That did not stop him.

Instead, Ecoferroquatics became an iterative process of designing, testing, learning and redesigning. His first prototype did not even have a conventional hull. Moroti recalls conducting approximately six flotation trials before successfully getting the system to float. Along the way, the project introduced him to entirely new areas of science and engineering.

“I knew nothing about robotics, not much about water science. I only knew code.”

Rather than viewing that as a limitation, Moroti built from the skills he already had and learned the others as the project evolved. That experience has also helped shape what he may pursue next. While he had long been interested in engineering, the project has strengthened his interest in both robotics and environmental engineering.

Designing With Aquatic Life in Mind

Removing pollution from water is only part of the challenge. Moroti also wanted to consider what happens to aquatic life when cleanup technologies are introduced into an ecosystem. That thinking influenced several elements of Ecoferroquatics. The system uses artificial intelligence trained to identify plastic rather than aquatic organisms. Moroti also designed the robot around paddles rather than conventional propellers and developed his own ferrofluid mixture using vegetable oil as part of an effort to make the system more environmentally conscious. For Moroti, the goal is not simply to collect plastic. It is to explore whether technology can become more selective about what it removes, and what it leaves undisturbed.

Representing Canada on the World Stage

For Moroti, travelling to Stockholm is about much more than presenting a science project. During his conversation with WEAO before the competition, he reflected on moving to Canada and a small interaction that stayed with him. While speaking with his driving instructor one day, Moroti commented that “you guys have a beautiful country.” His instructor corrected him:

“We have a beautiful country.”

Moroti says that simple exchange captured something important about what becoming Canadian has meant to him. That made the opportunity to represent Canada internationally especially meaningful.

“I’ve never had the chance to represent Canada before, and now that I do, I’m very excited.”

Now, that experience has taken him from representing Canda in Stockholm to bringing the 2026 Stockholm Junior Water Prize home to Canada.

From Stockholm: Presenting to the International Jury

Moroti’s journey took Ecoferroquatics from a Canadian student innovation project to the international stage in Stockholm. During the Stockholm Junior Water Prize judging process, Moroti presented his project to members of the seven-member International Jury, representing a range of technical backgrounds. Rather than one presentation to the full panel, he presented three times to smaller groups of two or three jurors, giving him the opportunity to explain the science behind Ecoferroquatics, answer technical questions and discuss how the project could continue to evolve. The experience is particularly meaningful given something Moroti shared with WEAO before traveling to Stockholm: he was not simply hoping to present a finished project, he was looking forward to having experts challenge it.

“I want them to critique my project. “

In Stockholm, he had exactly that opportunity. From artificial intelligence and robotics to magnetic materials and environmentally conscious design, Moroti is sharing his ideas with an international audience while gaining perspectives that could help inform the next generation of Ecoferroquatics.

Watch: Moroti Presents Ecoferroquatics to the International Jury

Looking Beyond the Prototype

Winning in Stockholm does not mean the end of Ecoferroquatics. If anything the experience has given Moroti new perspectives on where the project could go next. Future possibilities could include developing larger systems capable of collecting greater quantities of plastic or creating smaller robotic units that could work together. For Moroti, expert feedback is not simply part of a competition, it is another step in the design process.

His Message to Other Young Innovators: Start

Moroti has a message for other young people who see problems they want to solve but may feel they do not yet have all the knowledge or experience they need.

“Everyone has their strengths. When you see a problem, you can play to your strengths and learn as you build.”

When Moroti began Ecoferroquatics, his strongest background was in coding. Robotics, water science and environmental engineering became part of what he learned through building, testing and trying again.

His advice is simple:

“The number one thing is that you start today.”

From an idea and an early prototype to representing Canada and wining the 2026 Stockholm Junior Water Prize, Moroti’s journey shows what can happen when curiosity is paired with persistence.