Several Indian-American teenagers were among students from across the country that showcased their inventions and innovative science projects at the fifth White House Science Fair hosted by President Barack Obama March 23. Celebrating their extraordinary science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievements, this year’s exhibits, all built, made, and designed by kids, ranged from patented inventions to award-winning rockets and robots.
Obama praised the work of the young scientists, engineers and innovators as he exhorted them to “keep exploring…keep dreaming” and use the power of their ideas to change the world. “Keep asking why. Don’t settle for what you already know,” he said.
As part of the fair, Obama announced over $240 million in new private-sector commitments to inspire and prepare more girls and boys – especially those from underrepresented groups – to excel in the STEM fields, a White House press release said. With the commitments made on March 23, the president’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign has resulted in over $1 billion in financial and in-kind support for STEM programs.
Obama personally viewed some of these projects, marveling at the incredible ingenuity on display from student innovators across the country including some as young as six years. “Never stop believing in the power of your ideas, your imagination, your hard work to change the world,” he told the students after viewing 12 of the exhibits, as he chatted with them about their projects and posed for photos.
When Anvita Gupta, 17, of Scottsdale, Arizona, explained how she had used an algorithm to help identify possible new drugs to treat Ebola, cancer and tuberculosis, Obama turned to the reporters, grinned and said, “I don’t know what you all have been doing. But this is what she has been doing.” Gupta combined artificial intelligence techniques, 3D visualization and biomimicry to systematically discover which drugs might inhibit the interactions of intrinsically disordered proteins with other proteins. These proteins make up 70 percent of all cancer proteins and are mutated in tuberculosis and Ebola. Gupta’s research won her the Third Place Medal of Distinction for Global Good at the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search. According to her bio data on the White House website, Gupta is also an advocate for getting more girls in science fields – starting an after-school computer science group to teach middle school girls programming and app development. Forty girls enrolled the first year.Obama also met with Sahil Doshi,14, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who, inspired by the global energy crisis, designed an innovative carbon-dioxide powered battery, reducing the environmental effects of pollution. Comprised of multiple electrochemical cells wired in parallel circuits, PolluCell harnesses the power of carbon dioxide and waste materials to generate electricity, reducing the environmental effects of pollution. The battery earned him $25,000 and the title of America’s Top Young Scientist at the 2014 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
After hearing about major data breaches at retail chains, Nikhil Behari, 14, Sewickley, Pennsylvania, told the President he got inspired to create a security system that is easy to use, versatile and effective in protecting online data. Behari, who won a second place award in Technology at the 2014 Broadcom MASTERS national finals, wondered if the manner in which people type could be used as a means of secondary authentication for safer passwords. He connected sensors to a microprocessor he had programmed to detect keystroke pressure, and used a separate program to measure action and pause time as users type. By analyzing data from these devices, Nikhil discovered that keystroke-based authentication is a potentially powerful technique for distinguishing and authenticating individuals.
Combining nanotechnology, biology and electrochemistry, Ruchi Pandya’s research requires small biological samples – only a single drop of blood – to test for specific cardiac biomarkers. Speaking with the president, the 18-year-old, San Jose, California senior said she developed a one-square centimeter carbon nanofiber electrode-based biosensor that has the potential to improve cardiac health diagnostics for patients around the world. Pandya has competed at the California State Science Fair every year, and has won 18 category and special awards for scientific research.
Others who showcased their innovations included Trisha Prabhu, 14, of Naperville, Illinois, who learned about research showing that the human brain’s decision-making region is not fully developed until age 25 and got inspired to help teens rethink how they treat others. Prabhu earned a spot in the 2014 Google Science Fair to showcase her innovative project – a computer program called “Rethink” that alerts users when an outgoing message contains language that is potentially abusive and hurtful. Preliminary analysis showed that adolescents who use the “Rethink” system are 93 percent less likely to send abusive messages than those who are not warned about the consequences of their actions prior to sending a message, the White House website said..