Indian student inspires new award at Google Science Fair

Posted On: 02/03/2012 Updated On:

Inspired by an Indian student, Harine Ravichandran's project that seeks to eliminate voltage fluctuations, a new prize has been introduced in this year's ‘Google Science Fair', the largest online science competition in the world for students between 13-18 years.

Harine was among the 15 finalists and the only one from India at the inaugural edition of the event last year, launched by the Google in partnership with CERN, The LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American. She was quizzed by eminent judges at Google headquarters at Mountain View, California on her project, which envisaged developing multi-level inverters to solve voltage sags, particularly in rural areas.

The 15 finalists were five each from three age categories- 13-14 years, 15-16 years and 17-18 years. Seventeen-year-old Shree Bose (17-18 years) from Fort Worth, Texas was the grand prize winner, while Naomi Shah ( 15-16 years) and Lauren Hodge were the other two top finalist winners in 2011.

Announcing a new category for this year's competition—the Scientific American Science in Action award—Google said “ We were so inspired by 2011 finalist Harine Ravichandran's project, which attempted to solve energy surges in rural villages, that we decided to recognise an outstanding project that addresses a social, environmental or health need to make a difference in the lives of a group or community, as Harine's project did for her grandparents village in India. The winner will also be flown to Mountain View for the finalist event in July”. The award winner will get $ 50,000 and a year-long mentorship to make the project goal a reality.

The Google Science Fair, which opened on January 12, will accept submissions until April 1. Reacting to institution of the new award, Harine (16), told The Hindu that initially she wondered why she did not get $50,000 prize. “But later I felt so happy that I could inspire Google to initiate a new award. This award will make people come up with new idea to solve problems of a community”.

Harine, who is appearing for Intermediate second year examinations in March, said her dream was to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

This year the event has been broad based and submissions will be accepted in 13 languages-- Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Spanish and Russian.

As many as 90 regional finalists will be recognised (30 each from the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe/ Middle East/ Africa).

The regional finalists will be announced in May and 15 among them will be top finalists, who will be flown to Google headquarters for final event to be held on July 23, 2012 for selecting top winners in each age category.

The grand prize winner would get $ 50,000 and a trip to Galapagos Islands, while the other two top winners would earn $ 25,000 each.

More News

Bihar STET 2026 Admit Card Released

Bihar STET 2026 Admit Card Released The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) announced the release of the admit cards for the Bihar Secondary Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) 2026 on October 19. Candidates who registered for the exam can obtain thei...

Posted On: 19/10/2026

NEET PG Counselling 2026: MCC Outlines Over 31,700 Seats in Final Seat Matrix Release

NEET PG Counselling 2026: MCC Outlines Over 31,700 Seats in Final Seat Matrix Release NEW DELHI — The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has officially published the final seat matrix for the NEET PG Counselling 2026 on its official portal, m...

Posted On: 19/10/2026

NIFT Entrance Exam 2027 Registration Begins: Key Dates, Steps to Apply & Mandatory Aadhaar Live Photo Guidelines

NIFT Entrance Exam 2027 Registration Begins: Key Dates, Steps to Apply & Mandatory Aadhaar Live Photo Guidelines NEW DELHI — The National Testing Agency (NTA) has officially commenced the registration process for the National Institute of ...

Posted On: 17/10/2026

Dental PG Admission 2026 Cut-Off

Dental PG Admission 2026 Cut-Off Lowered By 20 Percentile Points Across Categories New Delhi: In a major relief to thousands of Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) aspirants across the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in consul...

Posted On: 17/10/2026

IIT Delhi Launches Advanced Robotics Programme with Strong Focus on AI and Robot Control

IIT Delhi Launches Advanced Robotics Programme with Strong Focus on AI and Robot Control NEW DELHI — The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has announced the rollout of its specialized executive program focusing on robotics, with a hea...

Posted On: 16/10/2026

Karnataka SSLC 2027

Karnataka SSLC 2027: Exam 1 From March 22, Registration Open The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) has initiated the online registration process for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) Exam scheduled for 2027, wit...

Posted On: 16/10/2026

CBSE Class 10, 12 Board Exam 2027 Date Sheet Expected Shortly: Check Subject-Wise Schedule Details and How to Download PDF Online

CBSE Class 10, 12 Board Exam 2027 Date Sheet Expected Shortly: Check Subject-Wise Schedule Details and How to Download PDF Online New Delhi: Over 45 lakh students across India and abroad are eagerly awaiting the release of the Central Board of Secon...

Posted On: 15/10/2026

UP Scholarship 2026-27: Renewal Applications Close October 15, Check Schedule

...

Posted On: 15/10/2026

IIM Lucknow Concludes Summer Placements with 100% Record; Highest Stipend Reaches INR 3.5 Lakh Per Month

IIM Lucknow Concludes Summer Placements with 100% Record; Highest Stipend Reaches INR 3.5 Lakh Per Month LUCKNOW — The Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM Lucknow) has successfully wrapped up its summer placement drive for the flagship...

Posted On: 14/10/2026

JEE Main 2027 Application Form LIVE Updates: Session 1 Registration Details

JEE Main 2027 Application Form LIVE Updates: Session 1 Registration Details The National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to release the official JEE Main 2027 Session 1 Notification and Application Form on its official portal (jeemain.nta.nic.in). ...

Posted On: 14/10/2026

View all

Admission Open

ICFAI University (IFHE)

Hyderabad, Telangana

BBA, BCA, L.L.B, LLM, B.Arch, B.Sc, BA, MA, EMBA, BA LLB (Hons.), BBA LLB (Hons.), Ph.D in Law, Ph.D, PG Diploma, Ph.D (Economics), B.E / B.Tech, Ph.D

Apply Brochure