Ionut Budisteanu of Romania received the Gordon E. Moore Award

22052013

Intel Corporation

Note to Editors: Multimedia is available at: www.intel.com/newsroom/education.

Romanian Teenager Wins Big for Low-Cost, Self-Driving Car Innovation; Winners from India Announced

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

·         The world’s largest high school science research competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science & the Public, announced its top winners in Phoenix.

·         Ionut Budisteanu of Romania received the Gordon E. Moore Award, a $75,000 prize named in honor of the Intel co-founder and fellow scientist.

·         Aishwarya Ashok, Nayana Koravatti, Khanak Bhargava, Ishani Goomer and Akshat Boobna represented India with award-winning projects

·         Indian Contingent meets up with Rahul Gandhi to discuss innovation and the education scenario in the country

·         Two Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards winners – Eesha Khare of Saratoga, Calif. and Henry Lin of Shreveport, La. – each received prizes of $50,000 from the Intel Foundation.

INDIA, May 21, 2013 – Ionut Budisteanu, 19, of Romania was awarded first place for using artificial intelligence to create a viable model for a low-cost, self-driving car at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science & the Public.

            Ionut said his research addresses a major global issue. In 2004, car accidents caused 2.5 million deaths worldwide¹, and 87 percent of crashes resulted from driver error². With 3-D radar and mounted cameras, Ionut created a feasible design for an autonomously controlled car that could detect traffic lanes and curbs, along with the real-time position of the car – and it would only cost $4,000. He received the Gordon E. Moore Award of $75,000, named in honor of the Intel co-founder and fellow scientist.

From India, Aishwarya Ashok and Nayana Koravatti from Amrita Vidyalayam, Davangere were winners of the fourth award in the mathematical sciences: geometry category and awarded $500.00 for their project entitled ‘dissection of square into ‘N’ congruent squares’. Khanak Bhargava and Ishani Goomer from Amity International School, Mayur Vihar were winners of the third award in the biochemistry category and awarded $1,000.00 for their project entitled ‘testing kit to distinguish between artificially and naturally ripened fruits’. Akshat Boobna from Amity International School, Saket received an honourable mention from the Acoustical Society of America in the computer science: materials and bioengineering category for his project entitled ‘finding best speaker position using new algorithms to determine acoustic properties of a room’.

Team India was welcomed back by Rahul Gandhi and Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel South Asia, yesterday morning. The team interacted with Mr. Gandhi for over an hour on innovation and the challenges in the current education system. Mr. Gandhi acknowledged that the system needed to be changed and the children who represented India at ISEF 2013 were the agents who could bring about this change. He will also be writing to the HRD minister asking him, to give a letter of recommendation to the children who represented the country at ISEF for the purpose of higher education.

Eesha Khare, 18, of Saratoga, Calif. received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000. With the rapid adoption of portable electronics, Eesha recognized the crucial need for energy-efficient storage devices. She developed a tiny device that fits inside cell phone batteries, allowing them to fully charge within 20-30 seconds. Eesha’s invention also has potential applications for car batteries.

Henry Lin, 17, of Shreveport, La. also received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000. By simulating thousands of clusters of galaxies, Henry has provided scientists with valuable new data, allowing them to better understand the mysteries of astrophysics: dark matter, dark energy and the balance of heating and cooling in the universe’s most massive objects.

“We support the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair because we believe that science and math are the foundation of innovation, which is imperative for global economic growth and advancing society,” said Suresh Balasubramanian, country manager, Intel India. “This competition encourages millions of students worldwide every year to explore their passion for math and science while developing solutions for global challenges.”

            This year, approximately 1,600 young scientists were chosen to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. They were selected from 433 affiliate fairs in more than 70 countries, regions and territories. In addition to the winners mentioned above, more than 500 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research. Awards included 17 “Best of Category” winners who each received a $5,000 prize. The Intel Foundation also awarded a $1,000 grant to each winner’s school and to the affiliated fair they represent.

The following lists the 17 Best of Category winners from which the top three were chosen:  

Category	First	Last	City	State/Country
Animal Sciences	Michael	Shao	Northville	Mich.
Behavioral and Social Sciences	Zarin	Rahman	Brookings	S.D.
Biochemistry	Savannah	Tobin	Salem	Ore.
Cellular and Molecular Biology	Hannah	Wastyk	Palmyra	Pa.
Chemistry	Eesha	Khare	Saratoga	Calif.
Computer Science	Ionut	Budisteanu	Ramnicu, Valcea	Romania
Earth and Planetary Sciences	Gyou	Tanaka	Mobara, Chiba	Japan
Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical	Zeyu	Liu	Calgary, Alberta	Canada
Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering	Samantha	Marquez	Midlothian	Va.
Energy and Transportation	Evie	Sobczak	St. Petersburg	Fla.
Environmental Management	Shixuan	Li	Lynn Haven	Fla.
Environmental Sciences	Naomi	Shah	Portland	Ore.
Mathematical Sciences	Vinay	Iyengar	Portland	Ore.
Medicine and Health	Jessie	MacAlpine	Woodstock, Ontario	Canada
Microbiology	David	Zimmerman	Los Angeles	Calif.
Physics and Astronomy	Henry	Lin	Shreveport	La.
Plant Sciences	Samantha	DiSalvo	Hewlett	N.Y.
	Ryan	Kenny
	Amy	Vitha

            Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education, has owned and administered the International Science and Engineering Fair since its inception in 1950.

“We congratulate Ionut, Eesha and Henry on their success at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair this week in Phoenix,” said Elizabeth Marincola, president of Society for Science & the Public. “Their research demonstrates the value of hard work and creative thinking. All the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair finalists here this week show great promise in harnessing the power of science and innovation to solve problems and create opportunity for our global community.”

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair honors some of the world’s most promising, rising student entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists. Finalists are selected annually from hundreds of affiliated fairs. Their projects are then evaluated onsite by more than 1,200 judges from nearly every scientific discipline, each with a Ph.D. or the equivalent of six years of related professional experience in one of the scientific disciplines.

This is the first year that all Intel International Science and Engineering Fair finalists will receive digital badges recognizing and rewarding their achievements in independent scientific and engineering research. Volunteers, judges and interpreters will also receive badges. Digital badges promote informal modes of education and provide recognition and credentialing for achievements beyond the classroom. Learn more about the badging initiative athttp://badging.societyforscience.org.

A full listing of finalists is available in the event program. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2013 is funded jointly by Intel and the Intel Foundation with additional awards and support from dozens of other corporate, academic, governmental and science-focused organizations. This year, more than US$4 million was awarded.

To learn more about Society for Science & the Public, visit www.societyforscience.org, and follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter.

To get the latest Intel education news, visit www.intel.com/newsroom/education, and join the conversation onFacebook and Twitter.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.  

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