Second time lucky
Photo: Murali Kumar
Aravind K
YET ANOTHER mastermind is recognised and honoured!
Arvind K., first year Pre-University student of Christ Junior College, Bangalore, bagged the third position in the senior category for his paper titled "DNA Micro array-Genome on a chip" in the Du-pont India Challenge competition.
It involved a lot of hard work, determination and keen interest. He said, "My uncle in the United States informed me about this competition. I had participated in this event once earlier. One of the reasons I did not win then was that I had exceeded the word limit. This time I had a chance to make amends for my errors."
But what made this young lad's paper stand out from the rest? An important factor that helped him win was that the topic he chose was novel and relevant since biotechnology is a discipline with a lot of potential.
This was coupled with an innovative style of presentation. He stated, "Presentation is an important aspect and all those who participate in such competitions should give it a serious thought."
Nearly 4,500 students from over 700 schools in the country had sent in their entries. Du-pont India Challenge is a nationwide science paper contest for high school and senior school students in India.
When asked about his preparation, Arvind said, "I had sufficient time to work on it. For about a month, I spent more time in the cyber cafe than in college. I got a lot of information from the internet."
From the given five topics, he chose to write on "DNA Micro array-Genome on a chip." He said, "I wanted to write on a topic on which there could be no debate." His paper highlights the importance of Micro-array technology as a tool in the discoveries of physiological significance. The broader principle is to have the molecular definition of all the gene products, DNA and RNA sequences and progressively the amino acid sequence of proteins.
His family gave him unconditional support and encouraged him throughout.
Even though he is not a student of Biology, he was guided by the teachers of various departments. They helped him correct the errors in the paper and give it a professional touch. Appaji Rao, scientist, presented the award in the capital on April 20.
This "whizkid" has participated in many competitions, including the National HRD competition where he was ranked 14th. Now he is looking forward to taking on the challenge of the National Olympiad Examination.
His interests are varied. He is an avid reader and enjoys the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He prefers chess over outdoor games.
Earlier, he wanted to pursue a career in Biotechnology but now is keen on Electronics.
Shreya Mishra
Yashodara Udupa
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