At a March 15 gala awards ceremony headlined by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson in Washington, D.C., Kavya Ravichandran '16 won a Third Place Medal of Distinction for Innovation in the 2016 Society for Science and the Public's Intel Science Talent Search, which comes with a $35,000 prize. Kavya was among 40 outstanding high school seniors from around the country who were invited to participate in this year's competition, and she was the only Intel STS finalist from Ohio this year. She is one of nine medalists to be especially celebrated for their work.
“This year’s competition is the first in the Science Talent Search’s 75-year history in which more than half of the finalists are female,” Rosalind Hudnell, vice president in Human Resources, director of Corporate Affairs at Intel Corporation, and president of the Intel Foundation said in a news release.“This milestone is an inspiring sign of progress toward closing the gender gap in technology and engineering. We hope these finalists’ outstanding work will inspire young people from all backgrounds to develop their interests in these fields.”
The Intel STS is one of the nation’s most prestigious math and science competitions. It rewards rigorous original research conducted by high school seniors. Kavya has been recognized for her work in Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, where her research is helping to develop a targeted therapy for heart attack, stroke, and other vascular diseases. She worked in the laboratory of Dr. Anirban Sen Gupta under the mentorship of post-doctoral fellow Dr. Christa Pawlowski.
Kavya, 17, of Westlake, Ohio, also is the only girl in the state to be recognized by both the Siemens Foundation Competition and Intel STS for her work this school year. In October, she was named a semifinalist in the 2015 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology for her multiyear original research project conducted through HB’s signature Science Research & Engineering Program.
HB’s SREP is a four-year elective course of study offered through the school's Institute for 21st Century Education. The program places students in innovative research settings, where they work directly with practicing scientists. Kavya’s Intel finalist status brings the number of Intel Science Talent Search, Siemens competition, and Intel ISEF semifinalist/finalist designations for HB SREP students to an impressive 160. HB is honored to have more Intel Science Talent Search finalists than all other schools in Ohio combined in the last 18 years.
The Intel STS has awarded the work of SREP students with 21 semifinalist and six finalist designations since 2000. In addition to Kavya, the HB alumnae who were named Intel STS finalists during their senior year of high school are Ann Lai '01, Erin Schikowski '07, Lizzie Coquillette '09, Caitlin Mann '09, and Emily Spencer '15. This marks the first year that an HB student has received a medal at the national competition.
Kavya attended the March 15 awards ceremony with SREP Director Dr. Crystal Miller (pictured above, left) and her parents, Jayashree and Annaswamy (right). The SREP was founded at Hathaway Brown in 1998 by Patricia Kelly Hunt.