Whiz Kid: High School Student Excels in Robotics

In our debut column of Whiz Kids, it may appear that we set the bar a little high, but we couldn't resist sharing the accomplishments of this high school senior. Whiz kids come in all shapes and sizes, as a team or an indvidual, kindergarten to high school senior. If you know a Whiz Kid let us know, we want to brag.

Whiz Kid: Ishwarya Ananthabhotla

School: Kings Park High School

Whiz Kids' Accomplishment: Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist for developing a robotic assistant for the visually impaired.

Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:

Besides excelling in her studies, Ananthabhotla is also a modest and caring individual. According to her teacher, Jane Schoch, Ananthabhotla chose this particular project because she wanted to help people.

Ananthabhotla has placed first in her category for the past three years in the New York State Science and Engineering Fair. The project she created, the RAVI guides humans by using image processing and detects any obstacles in the way by using sonar. It conveys the information back to the human through a series of beeps.

The project started over the summer. Ananthabhotla has been working in a lab at Stony Brook University for the past two years. Schoch helped her finalize her idea.

“She is the most talented to ever go through the program,” said Schoch. “She is also very humble.”

 Ananthabhotla who has been admitted to MIT was glad about her accomplishment but wanted to take her fellow students along for the ride. Though she didn't make it as a finalist in the Intel search, her future is certainly bright.

“I was thrilled to find out, but sad that I was the only one from the school whose project was chosen,” said Ananthabhotla.

Do you know a Whiz kid?  Let us know by e-mailing: jennifer.sloat@patch.com