Dubai student makes it to elite NYAS list
dubai — Standing at her bus stop waiting for her school bus, 15-yearold Samiksha wondered if she could bring about a radical change in the world vis-à-vis the universe, technology-wise.
“As I stood there waiting for my bus and I saw so many fast moving vehicles on the road a thought crossed my mind. What if every movement of all these vehicles could be harnessed into energy.” This got her thinking, researching and working to develop a revolutionary sustainable, clean and energy efficient method of electricity generation.
The Grade 10 student of GEMS Millennium School, Sharjah was chosen from among the elite 55 out of the 500 aspirants from all over the world to present her research based on United Nations Global Sustainable Growth goal on Challenge 2030.
Her school principal Teressa Verman encouraged and recommended her for the programme. Samiksha’s research concept based on a revolutionary sustainable, clean and energy efficient method of electricity generation was accepted into The Junior Academy (TJA), part of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and she was invited this May to present one of her projects on Challenge 2030.
Her invention has been kept undercover as the NYAS is further testing it. It will only be revealed by 2030 after further researching and developing it on a big scale by the NYAS. An overjoyed Samiksha told
Khaleej Times: “This is the best experience I’ve ever had, it was like a dream come true…”
The event was held last month at NYAS at the World Trade Center in New York. During the event, Samiksha along with the other shortlisted students met several Nobel Laureates, which gave them an exposure to the scientific realm. The list included Dr James Watson (who discovered the structure of DNA); Dr Jerome Isaac Friedman (who proved an internal structure for quarks); Dr Martin Chalfie (who discovered and developed the green fluorescent protein). She also met the CEO of NYAS and founder of TJA, Ellis Rubinstein, whom she described as “A wonderful person, who is very knowledgeable, highly cooperative and supportive”.
Samiksha wrote a thesis on her newly developed theory, which she also incorporated in her sci-fi novel titled The Adventures of Paradoxical Time Travelling.
Samiksha’s journey
When asked about her most cherished dream, Samiksha said: “I want to take mankind to the next level. I want to make space travel available for all.
“My ambition is to become a space-tech and theoretical physicist in Astrodynamics and Cosmology. When I was in Grade 7, I was fascinated by space sciences and wanted to get a deeper understanding of the universe — how it was formed, how does it work and when and how it will end.
“This led me to research on it and different ideas came to my mind and I developed my own theory about it,” the teenager added.
The teenager has also researched over numerous scientific topics such as cross species genetics, neural networking, cryptography, data encryption, and extra-terrestrial intelligence, to name a few. She has also written about five other scientific books along with a non-sci-fi novella. In her free time she solves puzzles, makes movies, develops apps and even creates musical masterpieces.
Samiksha said: “Whatever I have achieved all credit goes to my mother Sunitha, who is the guiding force behind me and supports me at each step in my career.”
With more institutional and individual support for advanced research and projects, she is sure to bring in wonderful innovations that make the world a better place to live in.
I want to take mankind to the next level. I want to make space travel available for all. My ambition is to become a space-tech and theoretical physicist in Astrodynamics and Cosmology.” Samiksha, Grade 10 student of GEMS Millennium School, Sharjah