Nikhil Kolachalama of Steinert High School
Nikhil Kolachalama is extremely intelligent, hardworking, and passionate about learning. He pushes himself with the desire to learn more. Nikhil currently holds the #1 class rank out of 317 Steinert High School students. He does not just want to get the high achieving grades or the high standardized test scores, he wants to broaden his knowledge, take risks, and find ways to better himself. Nikhil hopes to further his education and attend Brown University in the fall.
Nikhil was selected and participated in the New Jersey Governor’s School of Engineering and Technology in the summer of 2018, and it was at this program where Nikhil collaborated and developed a research paper about deep-learning based card detection for traffic surveillance systems. As a result of this experience Nikhil applied and was accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Undergraduate Conference, where he presented his paper this past fall.
Participation in the Steinert High School Robotics program and being Captain of team “Zero Gravity” has been the most fulfilling experience for Nikhil throughout high school. Is was through Robotics that Nikhil mastered computer programming and time management, and learned the life skills needed to juggle the demands of academics and extracurricular activities. Nikhil has gifted math and science abilities, but he is also an innovator. The use of programming through Robotics has led to a career path for Nikhil, and he hopes to attend college to study Computer Science and Cognitive Science. Nikhil is fascinated with Artificial Intelligence through neuro-networks and the correlation between the brain and operating robots. He has a sincere desire to study the social, technical and ethical uses of robots in the future.
In addition to academics at Steinert High School, Nikhil was accepted into the prestigious Princeton University Teacher Prep Program and studied Computer Science for the fall semester. He has also taken summer courses on-line through the University of Nebraska. Steinert faculty have described Nikhil as one of the most impressive students they have ever taught, a driven and talented young man, goal oriented, and one who combines knowledge and innovation to think in a way that will make a difference in the future of our world. As a student who has overwhelmingly tackled 11 Advanced Placement courses while in high school, Nikhil truly defines academic success.