Among the fifteen finalists selected for the Google Science Fair, three are Indian teens. 16-year old Rohit Fenn and Raghavendra Ramachandran (17) qualified for the final round from Bangalore, while Sumit Singh (14) has made it from Lucknow, Google India Head (Products) Lalitesh Katragadda told reporters at Bengaluru on Tuesday. Another finalist is 17-year old Yamini Naidu, an Indian origin American, he said. The three Indian students will fly along with 12 other finalists to Google’s headquarters in California in July to present their projects to the panel of judges and compete for prizes that include $100,000 in scholarship funds, a trip to the Galapagos Islands and more, Katragadda said.
From these 15 finalists, the judges will select a winner in each age category (13-14, 15-16, 17-18), as well as a grand-prize winner. Rohit's qualifying science project is a partial-vacuum assisted flush that conserves over 50 per cent of the overall water used in a toilet to flush, he said.
Raghavendra Ramachandran, also from Bangalore, won a place in the final 15 with a project that involves re-converting the partially oxidized fuel (alcohols) into usable fuel, he added.
Sumit Singh, from Lucknow, designed a low-cost Vertical Multi-Level Farm, which could be used by small farmers to increase crop yield in agriculture and horticulture, he said.
Yamini’s project is about creating a homology model of a human receptor protein using a computer modelling programme, he said.
Google Science Fair is an online science competition seeking curious minds from the four corners of the globe. Anybody and everybody between 13 and 18 can enter. All you need is an idea. Last year Indian girl Shree Bose headed the 17-18 age group. Shree discovered a way to improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients when they have built up a resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs. She was infact was named one of Glamour Magazine's Amazing Young Women of 2011. another Indian origin Naomi Shah headed the 15-16 age group. Naomi endeavored to prove that making changes to indoor environments that improve indoor air quality can reduce people’s reliance on asthma medications. (With inputs from internet-AarKay)
