What does a high school student do when he is not studying? Watch Movies or TV? Read fictions? Draw and paint? But Jayashree watches the sky.
A student of class 12 in Chettinad Vidyashram, Jayshree Sridhar has won many prizes in Astronomy.
She presented a paper ‘Astronomical Observation from Moon Surface’ and has done a project on future aircraft design for Langley Research Centre, NASA Hampton USA which was highly appreciated.
She also secured Silver Award from the Duke of Edinburgh. She contributed three unique rocks that have been added to the knowledge of Solar System to NASA & Arizona State University, USA.Y
Young Achiever Award recipient of her school for her exemplary performance in the field of astrophysics, Jayashree is also an awardee of Yuvashree Kala Bharathi Award for Astrophysics.
She presented a research paper ‘An experimental study of Lunar Reconnaissance with the Robotic Emplacements’. (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/leagilewg2008/presentations/oct31am/Sridhar4044.pdf) in the International Lunar Conference held at Cape Canaveral, Florida from during October,2008. She was the only high School student selected by Lunar & Planetary Institute-NASA all over the world to participate & was awarded stipend of $1500.
Jayashree had also won in the open quiz conducted by IIT-Madras.She had been awarded a badge which belonged to Late Kalpana Chawla by Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, Director of Centre for space Resources, Colorado. When she was in ninth standard,she presented a paper titled ‘Hot Waves’ on global Warming and won a prize.
She had done the same project for Anna University. She designed a banner for National Space Society (NSS,USA). She was honoured by Dr.G.Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO with certificates, a memento, books and cash awards. She was inspired by Dr. Nirupama Raghavan who invoked interest in her in her school and the workshops organised by Nehru Children’s Cultural Association was another source for pursuing her interest in Astronomy.
She prepared for the project by gathering information from books and surfing the Interest.
She wants to do her Aeronautical Engineering and hopes to join ISRO in future.