North Allegheny Student Wins a Top Prize at Broadcom Masters
HER SUCCESS STARTED AT THE COVESTRO PITTSBURGH REGIONAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR
North Allegheny Intermediate High School ninth-grader Meghna Behari is one of the top winners in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS® — the nation’s most prestigious competition for middle school students in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Meghna won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation. After finding that current water-testing methods are inefficient, Meghna developed the Aquabot, an automated testing device that can wirelessly collect and transmit data on water quality.
In March, when she was an eighth-grader at Marshall Middle School, Meghna placed among the top 10 percent of middle school competitors at the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, presented by Carnegie Science Center. Her success there led to her nomination for the initial phase of the Broadcom MASTERS® competition.
Eventually, Meghna was one of 30 Broadcom MASTERS® finalists who competed last month in Washington.
“I am so excited about Meghna’s success in the Broadcom MASTERS® competition,” said Lisa Kosick, Director of the Covestro PRSEF and Education Coordinator for Carnegie Science Center.
“She is a wonderful example of the caliber of student who participates in the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair. Her effort to improve water testing impressed people locally, and it is great to see her work recognized nationally, too.”
Three Allegheny County students were among 30 national finalists for the Broadcom MASTERS® — the nation’s most prestigious competition for middle school students in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The finalists participated in the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair presented by Carnegie Science Center, in March, when they were eighth-graders, which led to them being nominated for the initial phase of the Broadcom MASTERS® competition. More than 6,000 students were nominated by placing among the top 10 percent of middle school competitors at Society for Science & the Public-affiliated regional and state science fairs across the United States, including the Covestro PRSEF, and 2,499 entered
The finalists are:
- Ninth-grader Meghna Behari from North Allegheny Intermediate High School in McCandless, whose project is “Aquabot: An Integrated Modular Platform for Testing and Monitoring Surface Water Quality.” She was an eighth-grader at Marshall Middle School in Marshall Township.
- Ninth-grader Honora “Nora” David from Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel, whose project is “Do Pollinators Prefer Native Plants, Cultivars, or Nativars? A Two-Year Study.” She was an eighth-grader at Shady Side Academy.
- Ninth-grader Sanjay Seshan from Fox Chapel Area High School in Fox Chapel, whose project is “Keeping Our Heads Above Water: Early Detection of Stress in Buried Water Pipes.” He was an eighth-grader at Dorseyville Middle School in Indiana Township, Pennsylvania.
