Published: March 4, 2015
Mr. Gibbs writes:
I just wanted to let you know that Ashwin Datta from our HG-WELS group last year just placed first in the local science fair and as a result will be moving on to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh later this year. The reason I wanted to let you know is that the idea for his project came from the JPL tour last summer as we were standing in front of the Curiosity Rover in the administration building. Ashwin placed first in the engineering category with his project "An Innovative Method For Protecting Optical and Sensory Devices On NASA's Curiosity Rover and Other Terrestrial Rovers Using Electrostatic Properties." It's funny, because I can remember him specifically asking Varoujan questions along this line of thought and when I asked him, he confirmed that the idea came from the tour.
In addition to placing first in the engineering category, he won the Peer Choice Award and the U.S. Air Force award for outstanding engineering project.