Puttur girl Aneesha Nayak wins bronze at international science fair in the US

Mangaluru, Apr 2: A 14-year-old multi-talented girl from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district has won a bronze medal at the International Sustainable World (Energy Engineering Environment) Project Olympiad (I-SWEEP).

I-SWEEP, a largest science fair of its kind worldwide, organised by Harmony Public Schools, a K-12 Public Charter School System, was held at Houston, Texas in United States of America from April 26 to May 1.

Aneesha Nayak, who has just passed Class 9 at Sudana Residential School, Puttur, and will be studying in Class 10 during 2016-17, won the medal for her project titled Hydrophobicity of Colocasia Esculenta leaves as a wall protector' under the Environment-Management and Pollution' category. Sadhana Hebbar, a science teacher at the school, was her guide.

There were 585 projects from 62 countries in the race.

“I feel proud of my daughter. It is an honour for the country,” said Shaila Bhakta, Ms. Nayak's mother.

Ms. Nayak was one among the two girls who represented India at the competition. She will return to Mangaluru on May 4. This was her first attempt at I-SWEEP, Ms. Bhakta added.

Shobha Nagaraj, the headmistress of Sudhana school, is elated at the achievement of her student. “Ms. Nayak is a multifarious person. She is the country's first girl surfer and has won many prizes in the sport. She is a keen science student and is into social service projects taken up by the school from time to time,” she said.

Ms. Nayak is also an Asian-level surfer and a member of Mantra Surf Club in Mulki, near Mangaluru.