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

CBSE Class 12th West Asia Special Exam Result 2026 Declared

CBSE Class 12th West Asia Special Exam Result 2026 Declared: How to Download Marksheet via DigiLocker NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has officially announced the results for the Class 12 Special Examination 2026 conducted...

Posted On: 07/11/2026

CBSE Class 10, 12 Exams To Begin On February 16

CBSE Class 10, 12 Exams To Begin On February 16 CBSE has announced the date sheet for the Class 10th and 12th board exams for 2027, available on their official website, cbse.gov.in, as of November 6, 2026. The Class 10 board exams will take place fr...

Posted On: 07/11/2026

CBSE Practical Exam Schedule 2027 Announced for Winter-Bound Schools: Key Guidelines & Dates Issued

CBSE Practical Exam Schedule 2027 Announced for Winter-Bound Schools: Key Guidelines & Dates Issued NEW DELHI — The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has officially released the schedule for Class 10 and Class 12 practical examin...

Posted On: 06/11/2026

ICAI CA Foundation Result 2026

ICAI CA Foundation Result 2026 The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is announcing the results of the CA Foundation for the September 2026 session on November 6, 2026. A press release from the institute indicates that the scor...

Posted On: 06/11/2026

JEE Main 2027 Registration Relief: NTA Permits NRI Candidates to Use Passports as Identity Proof

JEE Main 2027 Registration Relief: NTA Permits NRI Candidates to Use Passports as Identity Proof NEW DELHI — In a major relief for overseas engineering aspirants, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has officially allowed Non-Resident Indian (NR...

Posted On: 05/11/2026

BPSC Announces Sports Department Exam Results

BPSC Announces Sports Department Exam Results PATNA — The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has officially announced the written examination results for various posts under the Sports Department, Government of Bihar. Published under Adver...

Posted On: 05/11/2026

CAT 2026 Hall Ticket Released: Download Link Activated at iimcat.ac.in, Check Exam Pattern & Guidelines

CAT 2026 Hall Ticket Released: Download Link Activated at iimcat.ac.in, Check Exam Pattern & Guidelines New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) has officially released the CAT 2026 Admit Card today on its official website. Candi...

Posted On: 04/11/2026

NEET-PG 2027 To Follow Rank-Based System

NEET-PG 2027 To Follow Rank-Based System A 12-member expert committee has recommended a transition from the current percentile-based qualifying system for NEET-PG and NEET-SS to a rank-based merit system for postgraduate medical admissions. This rec...

Posted On: 04/11/2026

BITS Pilani Doubles Tuition-Blind Admissions Scheme: 100% Fee Waiver Extended to Top 1,000 BITSAT Rankers

BITS Pilani Doubles Tuition-Blind Admissions Scheme: 100% Fee Waiver Extended to Top 1,000 BITSAT Rankers PILANI — In a major move aimed at democratizing elite higher education and attracting premier STEM talent, the Birla Institute of Technol...

Posted On: 03/11/2026

Mohan Babu University Hosts Mohana Mantra 2026, Bringing Together 25,000 Students from 100+ Institutions

Mohan Babu University Hosts Mohana Mantra 2026, Bringing Together 25,000 Students from 100+ Institutions The two-day national techno-cultural festival in Tirupati featured an AWS-backed hackathon, technology challenges, live musical performances and...

Posted On: 03/11/2026

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