30 April 2012
Posted in
Dr. Ying Competition
17 Year-old Neel Patel Wins 14th Annual Orlando Science Center Competition
Plus All Finalists Take Home Cash Prizes
Orlando, FL - (April 30, 2011) – Neel Patel, a 17 year-old senior from Seminole County’s Oviedo High School, walked away with the top prize in the Dr. Nelson Ying Science Competition, an annual event hosted by the Orlando Science Center. Patel takes home a trophy, a $5,000 cash scholarship plus $1,000 awards for his science teacher and his school. In addition, cash prizes were distributed to all finalists, including a second prize award to 16 year-old Sarah Van Sickle from Brevard’s Satellite High School.
Since 1999, Philanthropist, Scientist and Entrepreneur Dr. Nelson Ying has worked with the Orlando Science Center to encourage the outstanding scientific accomplishments of our community’s teens. Patel’s research was a multi-year effort that focused on delivering information through sound rather than with graphs or charts to aid visually-impaired scientists or other professionals, like fighter pilots, who are overloaded with visual information. He discovered that people could comprehend data delivered through auditory patterns as accurately as they could through visual displays.
Involved with science research since sixth grade, Patel is also a dual enrollment student at the University of Central Florida, won multiple national and international awards served as lead author on multiple research papers. Outside of research, he enjoys competing in water sports and has earned the rank of Eagle Scout through the Boy Scouts of America. He is planning on attending Harvard University in the Fall.
