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Young Achievers

my father’s chemicals fac- cash prize of Rs.200,000 and an
tory and started sending all-expenses paid trip to witness the
samples to other labs and Scripps Spelling Bee 2021 finals in
15 chemical companies for Washington (USA) next May.
testing. The final com- This early teen’s interest in hard-
position of the polymer to-spell words and their etymology
was tested for anti-viral goes back to 2016, when at age nine
property in the first week she registered with the Kolkata-
of May at the National based English Wizard Foundation
Institute of Virology to participate in their annual Wiz
(NIV), Pune. NIV has a National Spell Bee — her first spell-
good record of saving lives ing competition. Although she didn’t
during the SARS and MER win, she acquired the experience to
pandemics of 2002 and be adjudged runner-up in the next
2012. In the third week of season (2017). “Having avidly fol-
May, NIV declared that lowed the world-famous US Scripps
the polymer has been Spelling Bee on television, it’s my
found 99.99 percent effec- dream to witness this prestigious
tive under lab conditions,” competition live in Washington,”
reports Nikhil. says Shrivalli.
Encouraged and An only child of Silguri-based
supported by his parents, single parent Sagina Ghosh, an Eng-
NIKHIL RAMACHANDRAN Nikhil has promoted a proprietary lish teacher at St. Michael’s School,
firm under the name and style of
Shrivalli started reading avidly at
Novic. “I hope to start production age nine. “Although I started read-
angalore-based teenager this month at a manufacturing unit ing later than most of my peers,
Nikhil Ramachandran (17) of-
Bfers a ray of hope in the grim in Dabaspet on the outskirts of currently I read at least five books
Bangalore, so the product is available
every month,” says this die-hard J.K.
era when the coronavirus outbreak in the market next month. I have Rowling fan.
has taken more than 600,000 lives found distributors in India, New Clear about her future career path
worldwide. Nikhil claims he has Zealand, Australia and Europe for after completing Plus Two, Shrivalli
developed an anti-viral inorganic my product which I am confident wants to join India’s brigade of self-
polymer — a complex chemical — will save precious lives,” says Nikhil. less Covid warriors and qualify as a
that can kill the virus. Wind in your sails! medical practitioner. “I want to save
Conceptualised and developed at
an estimated cost of Rs.4 lakh using Akhila Damodaran (Bangalore) humanity from disease and improve
India’s health services,” says this
nano-technology, the Novial poly- young spelling champ.
mer solution can be incorporated Way to go, Sis!
into air filters, disposable and non-
disposable masks and other fabrics. SHRIVALLI GHOSH Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)
“The polymer attacks multiple
targets such as the spike proteins of
the coronavirus that binds the virus class VIII student of
to its host cell,” says this aspiring A
St. Michael’s School,
chemical engineer. Siliguri — ranked
The elder child of Dr. K.N. Ram- among West Bengal’s Top
achandran, director of Bangalore- 3 co-ed boarding schools in
based Crescent Polymers Pvt. Ltd, the latest EW India School
and homemaker Shalini, this class Rankings 2019-20 — Shrivalli
XII student of the top-ranked Cana- Ghosh (13) is national
dian International School, Banga- champion of the Classmate
lore started researching this project Spelling Bee Season 12.
last October. Initially to fight The first, second and third
Delhi’s annual smog menace, but runners up were students of
following outbreak of the Covid-19 DPS, Ghaziabad, Army Public
pandemic, he switched to taking on School, Mumbai, and Shri
the dreaded virus. Shikshayatan, Kolkata.
“Under the mentorship of our In the final round held on
family friend Dr. Roy Varghese, February 27 and hosted by
professor of gastroenterology and Bollywood actress Soha Ali
infectious diseases at Hazard ARH Khan in Mumbai, Shrivalli
Regional Medical Centre, Kentucky bested 16 finalists from 30
(USA), I developed the solution in cities countrywide to win the

36 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2020