Odisha Channel Bureau
New Delhi, April 29: Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Y.S.Chowdary has said that children should not to be lost in internet usage as lots of information could only be a burden, while systematically gained knowledge would give them strength.
He was speaking at a special ceremony held at the Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) in New Delhi last night, where 30 students selected from across the India were felicitated to represent the country, as Team India, at the highly-acclaimed Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) to be held from May 10 to 15 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Minister said today’s children have the advantage of getting any information that they want through search engines unlike people of earlier generations who had to make lot of effort. Thirty young innovators would participate at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) this year; 17 of them would compete against 1,700 finalists from over 70 countries, regions and territories, at the world’s largest pre-college science competition; and 13 other students will participate as observers at this prestigious event.
Seventeen of these young innovators from India will compete with teams from across the world at Intel ISEF 2015.Team India will showcase 12 cutting edge ideas to compete for USD 4 million in awards, scholarships and honors such as a chance to be present at the Nobel Laureate ceremony or to have a minor planet named after them (courtesy MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory).The projects were in varied fields from mathematics, computer science, plant sciences, molecular biology, nano sciences and medicine.The shortlisted students from India are the winners of the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS), a research-based national science fair, held in Ahmadabad, Gujarat in November 2014.The winners were selected by an eminent panel of scientists from the Scientific Review Committee, based on a rigorous process judging innovation and originality.
After Intel ISEF, as part of a joint initiative from Department of Science & Technology (DST), Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) & Intel, Team India will spend an additional week in USA to gain more exposure and engage in scientific exchanges with the rich scientific community in USA.In this additional week, students will travel to Washington DC for site-visits to science museums, universities, science labs; meet & interact with scientists, professors in their related fields and get an exposure to hands-on activities in labs and museums.US Ambassador to India Richard Verma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India Ashutosh Sharma, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group and Managing Director, South Asia, Intel Debjani Ghosh, Executive Director, Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) Rajiv Sharma, and Head of the National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and Technology B.P.Singh graced the occasion and gave their message to the students.The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world’s largest pre-college science fair competition.Each year, more than 6 million young innovators from around the world vie to attend and 1,700 are selected as finalists to share ideas, showcase cutting edge ideas and compete for over USD 4 million in awards and scholarships.The winners are selected based on their creative ability and scientific thought, as well as the thoroughness, skill, and clarity shown in their projects. To judge the projects, more than 1,000 science, engineering, and industry professionals volunteer at the Intel ISEF.2015 marks 15 years of India’s participation at Intel ISEF, with significant support from the Department of Science & Technology- Government of India, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) was established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America in March 2000.IUSSTF is an autonomous, not for profit society that promotes and catalyzes Indo-US bilateral collaborations in science, technology, engineering and innovations through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry.
