by Kai EL Zabar
With students from a range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions from across the country looking on, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered remarks after viewing science projects at the White House Science Fair.
President Obama visited students who participated in the White House Annual Science fair Monday. Students represented a range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. He was quite taken by a group of kindergarten girls called the Super girls who invented a book page turner from legos because they had observed people with various handicaps which makes it difficult for them to turn pages.
Eleven year-old Lily Born of Skokie showcased the Kangaroo Cup. She invented it after seeing how hard it was for her grandfather who suffers from Parkinson’s disease struggle to drink from regular cups without
spilling. Born says her advice for young girls who want to invent, is to just go for it.
11-year old Lily Born with her product the Kangaroo cup
Determine to find a solution, Lily designed a spill-proof cup with three legs for stabilization and makes it harder for people to overturn it.
The Kangaroo three leg drinking cup
Fourteen year-old Trisha Prabhu of Naperville developed a program called “re-think” that’s aimed at combating cyber bullying. She says it helps adolescents think before posting.
If I were to go on a social media site and post something like, “You are so ugly,” rethink is able to detect first of all that that is offensive and then it alerts
adolescents.”
And 11-year-old Lily Born of Skokie showcased the Kangaroo Cup. She invented it after seeing how hard it was for her grandfather who suffers from Parkinson’s disease struggle to drink from regular cups without spilling. Born says her advice for young girls who want to invent, is to just go for it.
Both girls were being honored among dozens of students from across the country who had won various science, technology, engineering and math competitions.
Trisha Prabhu and her “Rethink” product that has proven to prevent cyber bullying.
Trisha Prabhu is a 14-year-old student at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois. From a young age, she has been fascinated with the inner workings of the brain. In 2013, Trisha heard about young girl’s suicide due to bullying on the Internet and set out to find a long-term solution to cyber-bullying
Her research led her to create the product Rethink, which won her a spot as a Google Science Fair 2014 Global Finalist. Rethink gives adolescents who are trying to post an offensive message on social media a second chance to reconsider their decision. Her product idea also won first prize at the PowerPitch Competition at 1871, Chicago’s technology and entrepreneurial hub. Rethink has been covered on Business Insider, International Business Times, Huffington Post and several other media outlets. She currently holds a Provisional Patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for Rethink.
Prior to her Rethink project, Trisha researched the brain’s role in the cognitive distraction that causes distracted driving. She won a Gold Medal Award from the Illinois Junior Academy of Science for her work. She is an advocate of STEM in education and believes that technology is the future of tomorrow. She has spoken at education and technology conferences in the Chicago area.
Aside from her love of science and technology, Trisha is a published author of four books. She was also named Chicago’s Financial Literacy Ambassador by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
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