Jamshedpur: Steel city boy Prashaant Ranganathan has a celestial namesake somewhere in our universe.
The 18-year-old budding scientist recently had a minor planet named after him by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, which partners with Society for Science & the Public, a US-based nonprofit to promote science education through its Ceres Connection programme. Prashaant got this honour for winning the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2017, a contest in environment engineering category.
The minor planet has been named E34012 Prashaant.
Among 20 Indian high school students and over 1,700 from across the globe had taken part in the week-long contest last year in Los Angeles, Prashaant's project - biodegradation of chlorpyrifos using native bacteria - showed how farmers can break down harmful pesticides to save crops and human lives.
Though MIT Lincoln Laboratory officially named the planet after him this April, Prashaant got to know about it only a week ago. He received a certificate and a picture of the position of the planet he is named after.
"Now it is for real. It feels so good to know that something floating in the space is named after me," said the lanky teenager, an alumnus of Carmel Junior College who passed his ISC with 85 per cent this year.
On Thursday, Prashaant will be a resource person for sessions organised by the IRIS National Science Fair, a public-private partnership initiated by Intel Technology India Private Ltd (Intel) with the department of science and technology, government of India, and the Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF). Prashaant will act as the resource person for Loyola School, JH Tarapore School and Motilal Nehru Public School to encourage students to embark on research projects.
Not surprisingly, he is also being approached by many Indian students who applied for the ISEF and want his help to present themselves at the global forum. "I was contacted by many Indian participants who applied for ISEF. I am also open to helping research-minded students in Jamshedpur," said Prashaant who is working on four bio-engineering projects simultaneously. Yet to plan his higher studies, he is open to Indian and foreign universities that let him follow through with his projects and innovation.
Prashaant has already been among the top 20 innovators in Google Science Fair in 2015. He won a science contest organised by IIT-Guwahati in 2016 and has been the all-India champion in IRIS (Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science) by Intel Corporation.
