President Barack Obama honored the winners of student science competitions across the country Monday including Maureen Botros, a high school freshman from Wichita, Kan.
“These young scientists and engineers . . . teach us how to question assumptions, to wonder why, and they remind us there’s always something to learn and it’s never too early or too late to create or discover something new,” Obama said at the fifth annual White House Science Fair.
“I’m proud of you, because America is going to be stronger and smarter and healthier, and a much more interesting place, because of you,” Obama said to about 100 students, administration officials and industrial leaders who promote STEM education – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The White House hosted an exhibition of the projects in science and technology from 36 teams and individual ages 6 to 19.
Botros, 15, invented a wearable accessory device called “Illumi-cize” to measure people’s heart rate and show its status via colored lights. Her device – usually pink and in heart shapes – deployed a pulse meter to get the heart rate and a programmed chip connected to the device to show when a targeted heart rate is reached. It also allows people to send the data to a doctor or a coach for further advice.
She also invented an adult version of Illumi-cize with a less flashy wristband to measure a person’s heart rate. She programmed the wristband to shine in green, yellow and red to signal when heart rates are normal, elevating and dangerously high.
“I was inspired by Michelle Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ campaign, so I decided to tackle the problems of childhood obesity,” Botros said. “I was thinking of heart rate because it is a great indication of exercise intensity.”
Botros started to work on the idea in the summer of 2013 and won the top prize at the 2014 Kansas Junior Academy of Science competition. Her inventions also will be presented at a joint national meeting of the American Junior Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Special guests at White House Science Fair included Charles Bolden, administrator of NASA, Bill Nye, host of the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” show, and Victor Cruz, wide receiver for the New York Giants.
Obama also announced $240 million in new private-sector commitments to help kids excel in STEM education. He said the goal of providing 98 percent of Americans with high-speed wireless Internet has been achieved ahead of schedule, and the administration would keep expanding broadband across the country.
“This (is) not just going to be a key for your ability to learn and create; it’s also a key for America’s ability to compete and lead in the world,” Obama said.
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