Manipal University, a leading university in India, announced the winners of their national-level student innovation championship, TEENOVATORS 2013-14, today. Air Force School, Hebbal, Bangalore emerged as the winners for their work on converting radio waves into electric energy and took home a cash prize of Five lakh rupees in grand finale today.
Teenovators began in August 2013 with an innovation quotient test held across 15 cities in the country for students in Classes 9 to 12. From among 2 lakh entries from 500 schools that took part, 50 teams per city were short listed. Each of them came up with innovations that are of value to society. From among these, six teams were selected to showcase their unique innovations in the run-up to the grand finale. These teams were trained and mentored by experts from GE, LG Soft, IBM, Microsoft and Intel.
Winners list
- Air Force School, Hebbal, Bangalore, bagged the first prize for their innovation to convert radio waves from a cell phone to electricity. The team was given a cash prize of five lakh rupees. The team consisted of Prajual P J, Ganesh Siva S, Sriram S. The team thanked their mentor, Sanjay Chitnis, Program Manager LG Soft India, who helped them conceive the idea
- Naryana Junior College, Champapet, Hyderabad, secured second place for their innovation to track the sun so as to maximize the solar energy absorbed. The team was given a cash prize of three lakh rupees. The team consisted of Akhil L, Shalu K, Varun M, Surender and Sai Kiran. They were mentored by Srinath Vasireddy, Principal Program Manger, Microsoft
- Seshadripuram PU College, Yelahanka, Bangalore, bagged third prize for their project on a solar-powered electric generator. The team took home a cash prize of one lakh rupees. The team consisted of Arjun Amruth, Vengesh Damodaran, Abhinav Priyadarshi, Syed Faraz and Veeresh Angadi. They were mentored by Mr. Monojeet Chakravorty, Program Manager, representing Intel
- The DAV Public School, Rajpura, Chandigarh took home consolation prize for their innovation of utilizing the energy produced by the movement of trains. The team consisting of Shubham Singh, Bhavay Gudwani, Nagish Bansal, Chetanya Chopra and Puneet Dhir took away a cash prize of Rs 50,000/- The team thanked their mentor, Dr Prasanth Kumar, GE Global Research, who helped them conceive the idea
- Holy Angels School, Chandigarh, were awarded consolation prize for their proposal to make cars green through the use of bio-fuels processed from sunflower oil. The team consisted of Awaljot Kaur, Ayushi Malik, Shivika Hans, Srishti Verma and Kanva Singla. They were mentored by Naveen G V, from Intel during the course of the project. The team received a cash prize of Rs 50,000/-
The event was presided over by Dr. Ramdas Pai, Chancellor, Manipal University. Ranjan Anandan, MD, Google India, was the chief guests. Sukla Chandra, General Manager, GE Global Research, and Deepak Bharadwaj – Director, Strategy & Corporate Affairs, Texas Instruments were the guest of honour.
This is the third edition of Teenovators that has been successfully conducted by Manipal University. Apart from the six finalist teams, around 150 principals from prestigious schools across the country attended the event.
Innovation Curriculum: In furtherance to their avowed principles of changing the education scenario for the better, Manipal University released the outline of an ‘Innovation Curriculum’ that will be sharing with all the participating schools across the country. This innovation curriculum will provide guidelines, encompass knowledge sessions, include case-studies, workshops and community activities that will train students to think innovatively and encourage them to put on their thinking hats. Manipal University has taken this step to make the process of fostering innovation amongst teens more sustainable.
The innovations were judged by eminent personalities like
Dr. Manish Gupta, Vice President, Xerox Corporation Director, Xerox Research,
Dr. D.K. Subramanian, President, Foundation for Advancement of Education & Research (FAER), Dean and Professor (Rtd.) Indian Institute of Science Bangalore,
Mythreyee Ganapathy, Principal Program Manager Lead, Applications and Services, Microsoft Research,
Sukla Chandra, General Manager, Global Research Director, Legal, PACE (Patents and Analytics Centre of Excellence), GE Global Research, Bangalore.
Principals of various schools from across the country who attended the grand finale applauded the efforts put in by Manipal University to encourage innovation at the school level.
Details of the innovations: First Prize Your phone gets charged even as you talk
Air Force School, Hebbal, Bangalore Mentor: Sanjay Chitnis, LG Soft India
Student Participants: Prajual P J, Ganesh Siva S, Sriram S
This team has carried out certain experiments to find out optimal ways of charging a phone or other devices while they are being used. They have proposed an experiment, still in its nascent stage, which uses devices to extract energy from the surroundings to charge the phone.
Phones transmit and receive radio waves during a call. These radio waves possess energy, along with the signals they contain. This energy can be tapped into using a simple antenna, diode and a capacitor. This team has developed a circuitry to show that radio waves have got power in it and there is a lot of research to be done to come up with a design that can integrate into devices so that they can be optimally charged while they are getting used.
Conclusion and proposed application: This device, on a whole, produces enough energy to charge your phone. Although this energy cannot sustain a mobile phone forever, it ensures that your phone lives for 35.6% more time than normal.
Second prize Solar sun tracking system
Narayana Junior College, Champapet (Hyderabad) Mentor: Srinath Vasireddy, Microsoft, Hyderabad
Student Participants: Akhil L, Shalu K, Varun M, Surender, Sai Kiran
The purpose of this experiment was to show that power can be generated through solar energy to meet our energy needs. This project deals with optimal energy utilisation from the sun even when it is less abundant during rainy / winter seasons. This team has developed a model in which the solar panel turns towards the sun so that maximum solar energy can be absorbed. In this case, input is less than the output.
Sun is tracked through light detecting sensors to generate electricity efficiently.
Method In solar thermal conversion a dark surface is exposed to solar radiation to absorb energy. The absorbed energy is transferred to a fluid such as air or water. Solar radiation falls on a solar cell made of semi conductor material and converts the solar energy into electrical energy. The solar cells are connected in a series to form a photo voltaic (PV) module. The PV modules generate DC power. For different domestic applications, loads such as water pumps, lights require AC power. Therefore, storage and conversion of DC power from PV module to AC power is done with the help of invertors.
In the solar sun tracking system, the solar panel which is attached to a rotating motor, turns towards the sun. This is done with the help of LDR sensors. In the miniature model developed by the team, the total system works only with 5V, which is done with the help of a step-down transformer. The LED display gives the input-output information. The main advantage of this system is that the input is very low compared to the output and the team suggests that it holds true even for large scale implementation.
Third prize Conservation and production of energy through generators
Seshadripuram PU College, Bangalore Mentor: Monojeet Chakravorty, Program Manager, Representing Intel
Student Participants: Arjun Amruth, Vengesh Damodaran, Abhinav Priyadarshi, Syed Faraz, Veeresh Angadi
Teacher guide: Usha S
This team’s idea is for a solar-powered electric generator which can be adapted for domestic use at a smaller scale. Electric energy is generated when solar energy is used to heat water moving through black, evacuated cylindrical pipes to about 200 degree Celsius. The steam is then sent under high pressure which is used to turn a turbine linked to a generator.
The hot water from the generator is then moved to a hot water reservoir which can be used for various domestic purposes. This prevents any wastage of water and heat.
The USP of this solution is that the team has proposed the use of U-shaped mirrors for maximum solar energy utilisation to heat water and also, water does not go waste at the end. Water is either used for domestic purpose or reused as part of the solar-thermo generator. This is again in its nascent stage and the team proposes 4m x 4m mirrors for a house that requires about 2MW power/electricity.
This can only supplement the commercial power supplied by the government or any other electrical firm. This team also suggests that the government should provide a subsidy or discount on these generators so that the current solution can be enhanced for large-scale implementation.
It is not possible to completely depend on solar energy all the time. By reducing the pressure on commercial power during the daytime, the required electricity can be made available to industries that are in dire need of it which will lead to a stronger economy. During the night, commercial power can be used to power houses.
Fourth prize Utilising energy produced during the movement of trains
DAV Public School, Rajpura (Chandigarh) Mentor: Dr Prasanth Kumar, GE Global Research
Student Participants: Shubham Singh, Bhavay Gudwani, Nagish Bansal, Chetanya Chopra, Puneet Dhir
In a world suffering from an energy crisis, the need of the hour is to conserve energy in new and efficient ways.
A large amount of energy is wasted due to friction, especially during the movement of vehicles. Conserving and utilising energy that is otherwise lost is an excellent method to tide over the energy crisis. This team is proposing to convert the heat energy produced by the wheels of a train into mechanical energy, and then to electrical energy.
Their solution involves using the heat produced due to the friction of a running train to heat bromine in containers. The length of the bromine container is such that it can produce maximum kinetic energy in the particles of bromine. Increasing the surface area will increase the heat gain.
Vapour produced by several bromine containers is passed to the main pipe. A barometer takes the reading of the pressure inside the main pipe. The pressure developed by the vapours of bromine helps rotate a turbine and a valve of the main pipe will be opened automatically. Gas hits the blades of the turbine and the turbine rotates, which in turn rotates a dynamo to produce electrical energy. Bromine gas is cooled with the help of a condenser, and then re-collected in a bromine tank. Liquid bromine is then restored in the bromine container. This is a continuous process and electricity is stored in the electricity store house.
This team believes that their solution is sufficient to operate signal lights, thereby, making it sustainable in the long-run.
Fifth prize Make your cars greener
Holy Angels School (Chandigarh) Mentor: Naveen G V, Intel India.
Student Participants: Awaljot Kaur, Ayushi Malik, Shivika Hans, Srishti Verma, Kanva Singla
A bio-fuel contains energy from geologically recent carbon fixation and is produced from living organisms. Examples of this carbon fixation occur in plants and micro-algae. These fuels are made by biomass conversion (biomass refers to recently living organisms, most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials). Biomass can be converted to convenient energy-containing substances in three different ways: thermal conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical conversion. Biomass conversion can result in solid, liquid, or gas fuel and the new biomass can be used as a bio-fuel. Bio-diesel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. It can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Bio-diesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common bio-fuel in Europe. This team has looked at producing bio-diesel economically by using sunflower oil along with other additives. The team proposes to significantly reduce the processing time and make it a much simpler process as against currently used processes. For details log on to www.teenovators.com About Manipal University Manipal is a knowledge powerhouse and a brand name in higher education. Manipal University is a name to remember, not just across the length and breadth of India, but worldwide. The fact that students from 52 countries are studying in the university is a testimony to this fame. Today, it has 20 constituent institutions comprising medical, dental, engineering, architecture, nursing, allied health, pharmacy, management, communication, information science, hotel management, biotechnology, regenerative medicine etc. The university offers Bachelors’, Masters’ and Doctoral degrees in various specialties on quality education, which is why the degrees offered by the university are recognized world over. The University provides excellent educational facilities to over 28,000 students in its constituent colleges. It also has an active alumni base of over 94,000 students across the world
With branch campuses in Bangalore, Malaysia, Dubai and Antigua in the Caribbean Island, Manipal University has produced several thousands of graduates, is backed by experienced faculty, excellent academic and clinical facilities and an international academic collaboration for twinning programmes in engineering with universities in the US, UK, Australia and other countries. Manipal University truly boasts of an educational environment with a touch of world class facilities.
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