Making it to the finals of the annual International Science and Engineering Fair in May first became a dream for sophomore Vishnu Vasudev in 7th grade. This year, it became a reality as Vasudev advanced after winning the Grand Prize and First Prize at the regional event.  

¨I honestly was quite surprised to advance to the International fair directly from regionals,¨ Vasudev said via email. ¨I thought there was a pretty good chance I would make it to state, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to get first place.¨

Vishnu started competing in science fairs in middle school and has won at the state level (TXSEF) every year. However, since ISEF is only open to high school grades, he was not eligible to compete internationally until last year – but then COVID-related disruptions caused ISEF (and state) to be canceled.

¨I was really disappointed when the 2020 State science fair was canceled because that was my only opportunity to go ISEF as I did not get directly selected from the regional fair,¨ Vasudev said via email. ¨ISEF still happened in 2020, but it was only for students whose state fairs had already occurred or were selected to advance directly from Regionals.¨

Vishnu has always been keenly interested in the biomedical engineering field and loves to read and research-related topics.

¨This interest in the field of his project has enabled him to be well-versed not just on the core topic, but also in related fields and developments,¨ Vishnu´s dad Sujit Vasudev said via email.  I also believe that Vishnu has benefited from the experience gained through his participation in other co-curricular activities. They have inculcated in him an iterative engineering mindset, from building devices and solutions to solve challenges incrementally. In summary, Vishnu won through hard work and being prepared.¨ 

Vishnu´s project, ¨Happy Feet: A Low-Cost Smart Shoe Utilizing Temperature, Pressure,  Humidity, and Alcohol Levels to Detect and Monitor Common Foot Problems¨ in the Senior Biomedical Engineering category in the Life Sciences Senior Division has its roots in his family´s medical issues.

¨I was inspired to do this project because of my mom, who suffers from plantar fasciitis,¨ Vasudev said via email. ¨Also, my grandma and neighbor are both diabetic (which can lead to severe foot problems), so I wanted to try and create something that could help all of them and all the other people in the world who suffer from foot conditions.¨

Ann Fry, an 8th grade Science teacher and a Science Fair Coach at Fowler Middle School has taught Vishnu several skills that he still uses on how to construct an excellent project.

¨I am beyond honored that Vishnu found my Science Fair coaching guidance valuable to him when he was here at Fowler,¨ Fry said via email. ¨When I coach students through the Science Fair journey, I focus on stressing that scientific research is not about being ´right´…rather, it’s about the process of study and questioning yourself at each step with, ´From what I’ve learned, where do I go from here?´ To me, that is the greatest joy in the scientific study, the process of learning and guiding your research in new directions!¨ 

As the competition in May approaches, Vishnu is setting the bar low, with his eyes on the future. 

¨It’s going to be my first ISEF, so I know that if nothing else, I’m definitely going to get a lot of experience and new knowledge,¨ Vasudev said via email. ¨I don’t think I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get any awards, after all, it is my first year, and I have two more chances in junior and senior years.¨