Lynbrook High senior Ruchi Pandya engaged President Barack Obama at the White House in an extended conversation about her invention, a more efficient, less invasive test for heart disease.
“What was the principle that led you to make it so much more efficient?” asked the president, obviously curious.
It’s based on nanotechnology, Pandya answered. She developed a 1-square-centimeter device that can test a droplet of a patient’s blood for specific cardiac biomarkers — a potentially revolutionary in-home test for heart patients.
She was among students from across the nation invited to the White House Science Fair on Monday. Also exhibiting were:
Holly Jackson, 14, of San Jose, who engineered a device to measure the relative strength and compatibility of stitched fabrics. Her research could help in the design of high-performance protective gear, hazmat and space suits, parachutes and more.
Natalie Ng, 19, of Cupertino, developed two micro-RNA-based models that can predict metastasis in breast cancer, and identified two molecules that affect breast cancer metastasis — with implications for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Also invited to the White House was Swapnil Garg of Sunnyvale, who was recognized for winning the National Mathcounts competition last May as an eighth grader at Cupertino Middle School.
To see a video of students and the president at the science fair, go to ow.ly/KNNZn.
— Sharon Noguchi, staff
