A SHORT INDIAN GLOSSARY: SIEMENS
SIEMENS
Yes, it’s the name of a hugemultinational company. Perhaps just as important, from an Indian-Americanperspective, the word stands for a prestigious national math, science andtechnology competition that attracts hordes of high school students every year.In late 2013, while the top individual prize went to Eric Chen of California,the team grand prize was shared by Priyanka Wadgaonkar, Zainab Mahmood, andJiawen Pei—all from New York. The team, focusing on ozone pollution, identifiedthe protein gene in a fern model system that provides protection againstenvironmental changes. This gene evolved in early plants, and now has thepotential to improve agricultural productivity by building resistance topollution, drought, and salt salinity, all of which damage crops. Chen’sproject took on influenza endonuclease inhibitors that can combat flu.
Other Indian-American winners: KavishGandhi, who along with Noah Golowich got the second team prize (worth $50,000)for a mathematical project with possible applications in computer science andgame theory. The sixth place winner in the team category (worth $10,000) hadShriya Das, who along with Alyssa Chen focused on a nanoscience project. About1600 projects were evaluated in all to choose the individual and team winners.
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