WASHINGTON: Teenaged Indian-American Meghna Behari is among the four grand prize winners at the 2017 Broadcom MASTERs competition, as announced by the Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science and the Public. The 14 year old from Sewickley won a $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation, the third-largest prize of the event. Behari's Aquabot, an automated testing device that can wirelessly collect and transmit data on water quality, has earned her not only a grand money prize, but also collective praise.
Around 30 finalists convened to Washington for the national round of subjects including math, applied science, technology, and engineering for rising stars competition. Finalists included at least seven Indian-American and South Asian American middle school students. Grand prize winners apart from Behari include Faris Wald from New Mexico who won $25,000 for his overall mastery of science and engineering, Emily Tianshi from San Diego who won $20,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, and Helen Lyons from New York who won $7500 Lemelson Award for Invention.
“I often hear about high levels of contamination in waterways very close to my home. Globally, the lack of clean water poses a significant problem,” Behari said. Which is why, she set out to develop a method that would be simpler for both scientists and concerned citizens. Her initiative led to “Aquabot”. The Broadcom MASTERS awarded participants a total of $100,000 of prizes. Along with the four top awards, first and second-place winners were announced in each of the STEM categories, a team award and two rising stars who will serve as US delegates at the Broadcom MASTERS International and official observers to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
Founded and produced by the Society for Science and the Public, Broadcom MASTERS seeks to inspire young scientists, engineers and innovators who will solve the grand challenges of the future.
