15-year-old girl becomes 'America's Top Young Scientist', 5 Indian-American teens in final

Washington: A 15-year-old US girl was crowned "America's Top Young Scientist" for creating an innovative prototype to help developing countries tap energy from ocean currents, a contest which had five Indian-American teens among the finalists.

Hannah Herbst was named winner of the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for creating a prototype that seeks to offer a stable power of source to developing countries by using untapped energy from ocean currents, local media reported.

The award includes USD 25,000 and a student adventure trip to a destination such as Costa Rica.

Herbst, a ninth grader from Florida Atlantic University High School, competed alongside nine other middle school finalists on Tuesday during a live competition at the 3M Innovation Centre in St Paul, Minnesota.

Herbst said the idea for this innovation dawned upon her during conversations with a nine-year-old friend who lives in Ethiopia in northwest Africa, where infrequent and unstable power supply poses a major challenge, according to the local media.

Among the 10 finalists were five Indian-American - Raghav Ganesh, Krishna Shetty, Sanjana Shah, Iris Gupta and Amulya Garimella.

The finalists are judged on their scientific problem solving, innovation and ingenuity, and communication skills.

Last year, Indian-American Sahil Doshi, a ninth grader from Pittsburg, had won the competition for his innovative design of an eco-friendly device that seeks to reduce carbon footprint while offering power for household usage.