Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
On April 13, the White House was transformed into a hands-on showcase of student innovation: robots, prototypes, tools to help us fight climate change and cancer – all researched, built, and designed by more than 100 young scientists, land predictably, several of them were Indian-Americans, who, according to President Obama are going to change the future of America.
Obama started the White House Science Fair in 2010 and this 6th annual fair, like other years, was witness to the rise of a younger generation of promising Indian-American scientists, whose projects ranged from making clean, potable water, carrying essential vaccinations for children safely to remote areas, and reducing Styrofoam waste into non-toxic eco-glue in just 30 minutes instead of hundreds of years!
When 12-year old Sindhu Bala from St. Louis, Missouri, offered President Obama a sample of the eco-glue developed by her team for which a patent is pending, he quipped, “I’ll be honest with you, the president rarely has to glue something, but I’ll be looking for it in stores,” after leaving the White House.
Eighteen-year old Sanjana Rane of Prospect, Kentucky, described in detail to the President when he stopped at her table, how starting from observing high levels of pollution in her city, she discovered how a particular protein could be used to detect and treat renal fibrosis, a disease she said which was connected to pollution. The President asked probing questions and then indicated he would have his staff connect Rane to research labs. “I’m open to that,” a confident Rane said. “I really love science since I was a kid,” said Rane who was brought up by a Dad who is into computer science and a Mom who is a researcher.
During his speech to the nearly 130 young scientists and their mentors at the White House, President Obama first called out Maya Varma, a senior from San Jose, California, praising her for designing a tool much cheaper than the expensive detectors, for diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases like asthma; he also showcased Anurudh Ganesan, 16, of Clarksburg, Maryland for creating VAXXWAGON, which can effectively transport vaccines in the last leg of distribution without the use of ice and electricity, saving potentially thousands of lives throughout the world, he noted.
That was just the tip of the iceberg. The morning of April 13, at least 40 of the more than 100 budding scientists showed their inventions on the White House lawns and several Indian-American students were interviewed on live webcast, among them 12-year old Hari Bhimaraju of Kennedy Middle School, Cupertino, California. She used a Raspberry Pi and Arduino to design the hardware and software for “The Elementor”, a portable, low-cost teaching tool which is being tested by two schools for the blind. Asked what she would like to be when she grew up, Hari said, “I want to do something that will help people. Maybe like a biomedical engineer or something.”
Missouri Girl Scouts Develop Recycling Program and Discover a New Glue—Now Seeking Two Patents:
Sindhu Bala, 12, one of five girls belonging to Girl Scout Troop #1484 from St. Louis, Missouri wanted to help a local retirement community be more environmentally friendly. They learned that 20,000 Styrofoam cups—cups which take 500 years to decompose in a landfill—were being used and disposed of every month. The team developed “Eco Bin,” a metal bin containing a non-toxic substance (d-limonene) that dissolves Styrofoam when mixed with water, enabling households and businesses to reduce their waste. In a surprise twist, these innovators discovered that the gooey substance created by the mixture is a strong adhesive. They bottled and branded the substance, naming it “GlOo” and marketing it to their local school and other Girl Scout troops for art projects. These creations have earned the girls state accolades and the chance to compete for the Global Innovation Award at FIRST Lego League Nationals. The girls are also now pursuing patents for “Eco Bin” and “GlOo”.
No Password? No Problem! Teen Engineer Develops Novel Cell-Phone Security Technique Based on How You Lift Your Phone:
Yashaswini Makaram, 17, of Northborough, MA, created a new cell phone security tool that records the distinctive arm and hand motions people use to lift a cell phone from a table to uniquely identify the cell phone’s owner. To date, the technology correctly identifies a cell phone’s owner 85 percent of the time and differentiates among people with 93 percent accuracy. Yashaswini’s biometric research, which got her recognized as part of the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search, may lead to greater personalization of mobile devices.
Middle-School Coder Develops Tool to Help Teach the Periodic Table to the Visually Impaired:
Hari Bhimaraju, a 12-year old Kennedy Middle School student from Cupertino, California, used a Raspberry Pi and Arduino to design the hardware and software for “The Elementor”, a portable, low-cost teaching tool to help visually impaired students learn the periodic table of elements. When a user enters an element’s symbol with either a regular or a Braille keyboard, pictures and animations show a model for an atom of the element, along with light-up LEDs and sound beeps to describe the positions of the element’s electrons. The system, which is now available for purchase, also uses a simulated Geiger counter to provide information about radioactivity, and a voice generation feature speaks all details out loud. In addition to winning the 1st Place Award in Technology at the 2015 Broadcom MASTERS competition, two schools for the blind have reviewed the tool’s usefulness and are in the process of having their students use it.
Teen Tackles Early Cancer Detection:
Neil Davey, 20, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, took on the study of cancer for his International BioGENEius Challenge project. Neil’s goal was to detect cancer early, when there are often more treatment options and better outcomes for cancer patients. His technique uses a combination of drop-based microfluidics and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect circulating tumor cell (CTC) genes, which are shed by tumors and enter the blood stream. In addition to improving early cancer detection, Neil’s solution provides the genomic details of the cancer, giving the treating doctor insights into the patients’ cancer that can enable for more-targeted “precision medicine” treatments.
Las Vegas Middle School Team Takes on Sustainable City Design:
Las Vegas, Nevada students Krishna Patel, 12, and Isha Shah, 13, and Sidney Lin, 13, overcame the obstacle of losing their original teacher and mentor to compete at the Future City National competition. These Hyde Park Middle School students created a sustainable, waste-free, municipal city, winning Team Kilau Most Sustainable Buildings and City of the Future that Best Incorporates Cultural and Historical Resources.
The Unbotable Robotics Team:
W.P. Davidson High School, represented by Rupa Palanki, 17, Jacob Bosarge, 17, Nolan Lenard, 16, has become one of the best of the BEST in Alabama, winning 1st Place Overall BEST Award in the Jubilee BEST Robotics Competition and 2nd Place Overall BEST Award in the South’s BEST Regional Championship—making W.P. Davidson’s team the highest-ranking team in Alabama. The history of this rise of the school began in 2004, when, as a struggling Mobile County, Alabama, school trying to find its identity in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) world, the W.P. Davidson faculty and students decided to take a leap of faith and participate in the BEST Robotics program, drumming up community support. Now, in 2016, it is home to the largest K-12 engineering program in the state of Alabama.
Preventing Future Kidney Failure:
18-year-old Sanjana Rane, from Prospect, Kentucky, has helped discover how a particular protein could be used to detect and treat renal fibrosis. Her discovery helps to prevent renal fibrosis from developing into end-stage renal disease, an incurable total failure of the kidneys. After reading a study ranking Louisville, her hometown, as having some of the worst air quality in the United States, she began to look into the dangers of air pollution and learned about the chemical acrolein, which is found in both cigarette and industrial smoke and can cause kidney damage. As Sanjana delved into her research, she began to focus on how to shift acrolein’s influence on the kidneys by using a particular protein as a therapeutic target. This novel approach won Sanjana a scholarship at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. She would like in the future to practice regenerative medicine to explore how to use stem cells to treat diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and ALS.
Sea Dirty Water? Wave Goodbye:
Every summer Deepika Kurup, 18, and her family travel from their home in Nashua, New Hampshire, to India. Always privileged in the U.S. to have unlimited access to potable water, she saw Indian children drink water that she felt was too dirty to touch. Delving deeper, she learned that the world is facing a global water crisis and that, according to the World Health Organization, one-ninth of the global population lacks access to clean water. This unacceptable social injustice compelled her to find a solution—a solar-powered technology that uses silver and other materials to rapidly remove bacteria from water. Her innovation made her a finalist in the 2015 Google Science Fair and a winner of the National Geographic Explorer Award. Deepika hopes to use her creation to provide cleaner drinking water to families in India and around the world.
Teen Builds on Personal Experience to Develop Vaccine Transporter:
When Anurudh Ganesan, now 16, was an infant, his grandparents walked him 10 miles to a remote clinic in India in order to receive a vaccination. When they arrived, the vaccines were ineffective due to the high temperatures and lack of refrigeration. Although Anurudh was fortunate and ultimately received the vaccination, others are not. He learned that, according to UNICEF, 1.5 million children die every year as a result of not getting the safe and effective vaccines that they so desperately need. He also discovered that ice packs used to transport vaccines can freeze the vaccines, rendering them ineffective. This inspired Anurudh, who now lives in Clarksburg, Maryland, to explore a better method of refrigerating vaccines immediately prior to use, particularly in developing countries. His creation, VAXXWAGON, can effectively transport vaccines in the last leg of distribution without the use of ice and electricity, saving potentially thousands of lives throughout the world. Anurudh’s project earned him the 2015 Google Science Fair LEGO Education Builder Award.
Coders Provide Supportive Community for LGBTQ Peers:
Navigating gender identity, sexual orientation, and romantic orientation can be an isolating and difficult journey, particularly for high-school students. To create a more positive and welcoming environment, a group of teen programmers created Spectrum, an Android app that aims to provide a social-media network for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially younger users looking for a safe support system. Receiving recognition as Google Made with Code Mentors to inspire more girls to code, the app was imagined and designed by the team of San Diego, California, teens Bansi Parekh, 17, and four team-mates Siobhan Garry, 17, Mona Fariborzi, 17, Lauren Mori, 17, , and McKenna Stamp, 18.
This Team Is (Intentionally Not) On Fire!:
Team FireArmor is one of the five winners of the 2015 Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, an honor bestowed upon a team of high-school inventors and entrepreneurs. FireArmor is an innovative protective apparel designed to protect firefighters or anyone who faces extreme temperatures. It was created by then Centreville, Virginia, and Gahanna, Ohio team members, Varun Vallabhaneni, 17, Savannah Cofer, 18, Valerie Chen, 18, Matthew Sun, 17. Composed of an inorganic, endothermic fiber that absorbs heat from its environment and keeps the firefighter safe even at dangerously high temperatures, FireArmor keeps the firefighter safe even above 1000 degrees Celsius and provides up to five minutes of protection in flash fire conditions, in contrast to current firefighter turnout gear which rapidly degrades above 300 degrees Celsius and provides less than six seconds of protection in flash fire conditions. Vallabhaneni and the team were inspired to create FireArmor two years ago, when 19 Arizona firefighters were surrounded and killed during a flash fire.
The Breathtaking Device That Cuts Costs but Not Quality:
Maya Varma, a 17-year-old from San Jose, California, was astounded at the price of diagnostic spirometers—the machines used to analyze lung health by having patients blow into them. The devices typically cost hundreds of dollars, so Maya Varma developed a 3D printed version, that costs a mere $35. Maya used her knowledge of 3D printing, electrical engineering, and computer science, along with data of lung capacity and flow rate, to build the device, which can currently diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and restrictive lung disease with remarkable accuracy. The Electronics Aquarium tubing connects the spirometer to a pressure sensor that converts the pressure change to voltage. An Arduino microcontroller sends the voltage data to an Android app. The Spirometer Varma’s system uses a 3D-printed Lilly pneumotachometer, a spirometer that calculates flow by measuring the pressure change across a mesh when you blow into it. Maya’s (literally) breathtaking invention earned her a slot as a 2016 Intel STS finalist, where her spirometer was selected as one of the top 40 projects in the nation.
The post All The President’s Scientists: Indians At White House Science Fair appeared first on News India Times.