Announced last week, Dhruvik Parikh, a local Bothell student, was awarded the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and $50,000 for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) – a program of Society for Science and the Public and the world’s largest international pre-college science competition Taking place this past week in Pittsburgh, Penn., the fair awarded over $5 million in prizes and scholarships.

Dhruvik was awarded one of the top prizes out of nearly 1,800 finalists, from 420 affiliate fairs in 81 countries, regions and territories. Please join us in congratulating him for their amazing accomplishment:

Parikh received the other Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000 for his development of less expensive yet more robust ion exchange membranes for use in large industrial-scale batteries for storing solar or wind-generated electricity for later distribution. His composite membrane has 10 times the proton conductivity of the industry’s standard membrane, while reducing production costs by about 30 percent.