Budding Indo-US scientist gives personal letter to Obama

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Mar 10 (PTI) For Smitha Ramakrishna, selected
by the Intel as among the top 40 high school scientists, there
was no end to her joy after she had a chance to meet with US
President Barack Obama and hand over him a personal letter.

From Chandler in Arizona, Smitha, 17, was excited as
Monday she handed over a personal letter she had written for
the First Citizen of the United States.

She was among the 40 Intel Science Talent Search (2009)
finalists invited by Obama to White House on Monday for a
meeting and the President not only accepted the letter but
also put it in his pocket, she said.

"This is the best thing ever, I experienced in my whole
life. I am not going to forget this moment," Smitha told PTI
after the meeting. "It was awesome," she said.

"I wrote him a letter, I brought it in. I really had to
sneak it in through the security. When I shook hands with him,
I gave him the letter and he took it and put it in his pocket.
I am really excited," Smitha said.

In the letter, the budding scientist said she has written
that Obama is a source of inspiration to people of her
generation and also asked him to set up a President's Youth
Commission, having representatives from every state.

The commission would give its opinions on the decisions
made by the President and the executive. She hopes Obama would
respond to her letter. "It (the letter) has my contacts," she
said.

Smitha was selected by Intel as the finalist because of
her project, which investigates what happens to sucralose (the
artificial sweetener marketed as 'Splenda') after it passes
through our bodies and ends up in a wastewater treatment
plant.

In the laboratory, she confirmed that the sweetener
resists the two types of bacterial digestion as well as other
techniques, typically used in conventional wastewater
treatment plants.

Only the use of both titanium oxide and ultraviolet light
broke the sucralose into biodegradable molecules but with
extensive time and concentration requirements.

From this latest phase of her three-year study, she
concluded that virtually all of the sucralose consumed is
entering the environment and accumulating in downstream
ecosystems.

At Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Smitha heads the
science research club, enjoys Indian classical dance and
raises funds to help children get clean drinking water, an
interest she developed during a visit to the slums of India at
age 12. PTI LKJ
RAI
NNNN