JOIN USWe all must be unique and not follow anybody else’s footsteps”, rehashes Pratiyush Maini, remembering Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s words. The 15-year-old boy from DAV Public School, Gurgaon, received the third prize from vice president Hamid Ansari at the coveted 3rd National level exhibition and project competition under the ‘Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research’ (INSPIRE) programme’ on 10 October in New Delhi.
“It’s a really big achievement for me and my family. I was confident about my project but did not know how strong it was until I saw judges coming in time and again to check my exhibit at Pragati Maidan,” says Pratiyush sounding ecstatic about his success.
Chartering his own journey without following any role-models, this young boy envisions a future for India where there’s no scarcity of electricity. With that in mind, he takes us back to where his winning-entry, a parisitic energy harvester, found its first spark of inspiration, “Watching my mother use a gas lighter, I based my project upon the principle that when a mechanical stress is applied through piezo electric crystals, then an electric current is produced,” says the budding talent, adding, “if the same principle could be applied on road, by layering it up with piezo electric crystals, then the commuting vehicles could help produce electricity yielding a profit of Rs Six crores per annum.” Under the mentorship of his Physics teacher, Anil Kumar, Pratiyush also worked upon a case study that involved a 10-km-long stretch between Rajiv Chowk and the toll plaza in Gurgaon to elaborate upon his idea in the exhibition.
Not even a tad overwhelmed by his success, the young lad appreciates his fellow competitors, recounting one of the interesting projects, “Somebody from South India came up with this idea that one could listen through teeth. It was meant to help people with hearing impairments.” About his future plans, the Std X boy says, “I was thinking of taking the conventional road to become an engineer or a doctor till now. But after this award, different ideas come to my mind every day.” He wraps up by hinting at taking up research in the field of science in future.