Los Angeles  May 18 2015:  At the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair  last week,  Indian-origin Karan Jerath, 18, of Friendswood, Texas,  has received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of US$50,000 for refining and testing a novel device that should allow an undersea oil well to rapidly and safely recover following a blowout.
Jerath developed a better containment enclosure that separates the natural gas, oil and ocean water; accommodates different water depths, pipe sizes and fluid compositions; and can prevent the formation of potentially clogging methane hydrate.
Other  PIOs who won in various categories include:  Amol Punjabi of Worshester ,Massachusetts for  BioChemistry; Divya Mathur  of Louisville Kentucky in Behavioral Sciences, Sriharshita Musunuri of Mill Creek Washington ( Physical Energy )  and Sanath Kumar Devalapurkar of Torrance, California.
Amrit Sahu, 14, of India presented his 'Voice-o-nator,' an Intel Galileo-based device that enables the speech-impaired to speak by tongue and lip movement,. More than 1,700 high schoolers from 70 countries, regions and territories are competing for more than $5 million in awards this week. 
This year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair featured approximately 1,700 young scientists selected from 422 affiliate fairs in more than 75 countries, regions and territories. In addition to the top winners, approximately 600 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including 20 "Best of Category" winners, who each received a US$5,000 prize. The Intel Foundation also awarded a US$1,000 grant to each winner's school and to the affiliated fair they represent.