Meghna Behari and Henry and Susan Samueli, sponsors of the Marconi/Samueli award.
interface, a serial monitor interface, and
a smartphone app, which allows it to
be used by a wide variety of users and
enables quick assessment of water quality.
“The teachers at NA were very
supportive of me through this entire
project,” she says. “NAI’s Tech Ed teacher,
Mr. Banks, helped me a great amount
by giving me access to the school’s 3D
printer to use for my project.”
While in D.C. for the finals, the week
of activities that Behari participated in all
contributed to overall scores. Not only
was she scored on her project, but also on
her problem-solving and team-building
skills. To do this, there were a series of
challenges and experiences that allowed
the judges to get to know each entrant as
a person.
“These challenges were some of the
best experiences of my life,” she adds. “I
got to go to Georgetown University and
work with my team on the campus, and
I got to meet alumni of the program who
are now doing amazing things in their
own fields of work. The challenges were
appropriately challenging, fun, and I
learned so many new things.”
At the end of the week, Behari and her
fellow competitors traveled to Capitol
Hill, toured the Capitol Building and
other monuments and met with district
U.S. Representative Keith Rothfus. She
also enjoyed bonding with the other 29
finalists, and now has friends across the
country.
“Behari’s effort to improve water testing
impressed judges here in Pittsburgh,
and it is exciting that her work has been
recognized on an international level,
too. She is a wonderful example of the
caliber of student who participates in the
Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science
& Engineering Fair,” says Lisa Kosick,
Director of the Covestro PRSEF and
Education Coordinator for Carnegie
Science Center.
Behari placed third in the competition,
and received the Marconi/Samueli
Award for Innovation, which came with a
$10,000 cash prize.
“My participation in this competition
was not only important to me, but to
my community as a whole,” Behari says.
“I was able to grow as a scientist and
engineer at this competition, but also
as a team member and problem solver.
I hope to use the skills I developed
here to continue to grow my passion in
engineering and STEM fields.”
She adds, “For my community, I
hope my project helps scientists and
citizens, and I also hope this helps to raise
awareness about the need for clean water
in communities.”
Behari hopes to continue her project
and allow scientists, water quality
inspectors and citizens to use it in the
future. Currently, Aquabot is patent
pending, and while the patent is filed, she
can continue to work on the project.
Behari plans to attend college for
engineering or computer science, and
eventually move to Silicon Valley to start
her own tech company. “I hope to create
robots and machines that have an impact
on the world and make it a better place,”
she says.
For more information about
the Broadcom MASTERS
competition, contact Madelyn
Dinnerstein at DinnersteinM@
CarnegieScienceCenter.org. ■
NORTH ALLEGHENY
❘
SPRING 2018
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