The regional finalists and winners of the YouTube space lab contest hitch a zero-graviity ride. Asia-Pacific regional winner Sachin S Kukke is second from left. Photo courtesy YouTube/ Bryan Rapoza.
New York: YouTube's Space Lab contest gives you a fascinating look at what makes very smart teenage brains tick. Spiders and bacteria are top in YouTube's Space Lab contest and these winning experiments conceived by three brilliant teens will actually be performed in space later this year by Indian American NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and streamed live on YouTube.
Williams announced the two winners of the YouTube worldwide science competition, at a glittering ceremony at the Newseum in Washington which drew members of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Amr Mohamed, an 18-year-old student from Egypt has a winning experiment exploring the question, "Can you teach an old spider new tricks?" Mohamed proposed investigating the effects of microgravity on the way the zebra spider catches its prey and whether it could adapt its hunting ways in a zero-gravity environment.
Two American 16-year-olds from Michigan, Dorothy Chen and Sara Ma, formed the other winning team, with an experiment that will look at whether a fungus-killing bacterium will become even more effective at killing fungus when it gets back from a trip that will make it temporarily weightless.
L-R) Sunita Williams, Sachin Kukke, Amr Mohamed, Dorothy Chen, Tracey Trachta, Stefanie Countryman, Sara Ma, Laura Calvo, Maria Vilas, William H. Gerstenmaier, Tom Shelley, Emerald Bresnahan, Derek Chan and Patrick Zeng attend YouTube Space Lab Competition. Getty Images.
"Today's Space Lab winners could be tomorrow's space explorers," said Google's Zahaan Bharmal, who created the Youtube Space Lab contest.
Sachin S Kukke, a whip-smart 18-year-old aspiring aerospace engineer from Bangalore was in strong contention as he was the winner of the Asia-Pacific region. His experiment aims to measure the thermal conductivity of ferrofluids in microgravity. His experiment explores the transfer of heat in ferrofluids, a special liquid that gets magnetized. Kukke's study can benefit development of advanced cooling and heat transfer systems, scientists have noted.
As a regional finalist, Kukke, along with the three other teams of regional finalists, and winners got to hitch a ride last Thursday on a flight to zero gravity, run by the Arlington company Zero G. Kukke managed to survive the trip which let him to experience what gravity would be like on Mars, the moon, and in open space without getting sick, though the ride made all the teen scientists more than a little woozy!
Indian ambassador Nirupama Rao made it a point to make Kukke, a mechanical engineering student from BMS College for Engineering in Bangalore, feel at home in Washington.
"Students like Sachin symbolise the hopes and the potential of a dynamic, resurgent India and it's young population," said Rao, while drawing Kukke out on his experiment and his interests in aerospace engineering.
If you are looking for any proof that Indian students are gifted, hungry and hard working then look no further than YouTube's Space Lab competition. The US led with 10 finalists, followed closely by India with nine, said YouTube officials.
Sachin S Kukke and Indian ambassador Nirupama Rao. Courtesy Indian embassy in Washington
There were just over 2,000 students who submitted proposals and the YouTube community was invited to judge the final 60 entries, alongside stalwarts like NASA astronaut Leland Melvin and 69-year-old physicist Stephen Hawking whose bestselling 1988 book, A Brief History of Time sold nine million copies and propelled him into instant stardom. An all-star panel of judges, including Hawking, had the final say in the contest.
Hawking said the contest had great implications for the future of science and humanity. "Realising this goal will require an entrepreneurial spirit and a new generation of scientists and astronauts," Hawking said. "YouTube Space Lab is a wonderful initiative that helps inspire young minds around the world to take a greater interest in science and the future of space exploration."
Michael Schmedlen, worldwide director of education, Lenovo said that from an education standpoint, they saw a correlation between the entries they received and the results from a Global Student Science and Technology Outlook survey, which showed "students in emerging countries — India, Mexico and Russia — have a greater interest in and prioritise science-related careers over students in other developed countries."
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