Having only been notified a week in advance, I was in disbelieve to find myself at the White House this past week in the company of the President and many other distinguished guests and students!

Here’s a link to my picture I took there: https://plus.google.com/photos/109562241580561333979/albums/5706767510544966897

And here’s a link to an interview I gave to the Duke Office of Undergraduate Scholars and Fellows: http://ousf.duke.edu/news/archive/2012/02/20/invited-to-the-white-house

I can’t believe it! I’ve wanted the chance to visit the Google Headquarters in Mountainview, CA for years and now, as one of the first ever Google Global Science Fair Finalists , they are paying for me to fly out there!

I found out about the science fair the day it was announced to the world as I checked my RSS feeds on Google Reader one morning. Google had sponsored the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair heavily in 2010 when it was located in San Jose, CA and I was really disappointed when the tour of Google was full as I tried to sign up (considering that there were 1600 students there it wasn’t surprising). Now, Google announce a new kind of science fair for the internet generation! The premise was that judges will judge you based on an online presentation and board/website made with Google Sites. My eyes lit up when I saw that we were highly encouraged to incorporate other Google Apps into the project. I spent almost as much time on rewriting my board text as I did playing with various embeds! I ended up incorporating Google Sites, Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Google Docs, Picasa, Google Buzz, Google Wave, Google Moderator, Google Streetview, Youtube, Google Seach, and even Google Translate.

As I submitted my project, I realized that even though my birthday was coming up (March 19) I would be 16 as I submitted, which put me in the 15-16 yr old category. Also, I found out that because my first model of my turbine was made fully out of LEGOs, I could check the box saying that I used LEGOs in my project (LEGO is a sponsor). Later, at ISEF 2011 I got the word that I was selected as being one of 60 semifinalists! apparently around 10,000 people had applied and I was shocked. I was suddenly eligible for the People’s Choice Award which could be won by getting the most votes online. I was able to spread the word and track that I got over 2000 votes, however, someone else ended up winnning it. After filling out some paperwork and interviewing over the phone with people in the UK, I heard back that I had been selected to be a finalist! I’ll be at the Googleplex from July 9-12th where a panel of celebrity judges (including Dean Kamen who I admire and have a picture of me with!) will select winners in each age group to win prizes such as a 10 day trip to the galapagos islands with National Geographic or a trip to CERN. Going to Google is so much of a prize to me, I don’t know what I’d do with any more prizes. I just read the book “In the Plex” by Steven Levy (a writer for Wired.com) which covered the history of Google. I’m planning what I’ll say when I meet Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Oh, and of course I read the book on my Google Books app on my Galaxy S Android phone =D.

Coming up, Gavin gets his wisdom teeth pulled out the day before he has to give a speech to the school! I also start working at Medtronic on June 6 =D

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Laura Goodrich from the local TV Show “Life to the Max” this week, which just aired at 11pm on Saturday the 21st. I watched the profile piece with my family and friends and we loved seeing the photos from my childhood, and the interviews of my teachers and principal, and the very kind remarks by the host, Mike Max. I’ll be sure to embed the video on the site as soon as it becomes available! Thanks for the cool opportunity, Life to the Max!

The week after ISEF was very busy as I had Prom, 3 Finals, 3 Interviews, and 2 AP tests all in 7-days. My interview at Medtronic was extremely exciting as I got a chance to explore the research labs in one of their scientific centers and I got to know two very interesting scientists. I just found out that they have accepted me as an official intern this summer and I can’t wait to begin working on my first job in the field I hope to go into someday!

While attending the International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, I found out that my submission to the first ever Google Global Online Science Fair had been selected to be one of the 60 semi-finalists! I had jumped at the opportunity to compete in the competition from the first day that it was announced and I had a great time showing off all of the Google Apps that helped me in creating my science fair project. You can see my board here: http://goo.gl/UdVRy. Voting for the People’s Choice award ended on the 20th and on Monday they will announce the winners of the People’s Choice $10,000 award and the 15 Finalists. Wish me luck!

I had an incredible adventure at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair this year and I made a lot of amazing friends. I met a couple Nobel Laureates, danced at Club Nokia in L.A. Live, went to Disneyland and Paramount, saw Bill Nye and the Cast of Glee, and partied in a hot tub on the roof of a hotel with a bunch of geniuses from around the world!

Pretty incredible, and I am very proud to have received a Fourth Place Grand Award in Energy and Transportation along with a $1000 award from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance.

Also, a big congratulations to the Minnesota Team that won a First Place Grand Award and to David Campeau from Minnesota who won a trip to CERN! Great Job

I had a phenomenal time in Atlanta, GA for the 2011 Coke Scholars Weekend where I met my 250 coke brothers and sisters at the coke headquarters! We were busy and heres an except of things we did:

- Met all the sponsors of the Coke Scholarship at a giant banquet
- Went to the World of Coke and tried coke drinks from around the world
- Refurbished old syrup containers to be reused as rain barrels
- Met the living relatives of Martin Luther King at the Marting Luther King Center
- Competed in a “Game Show”
- Danced and partied in the Coca-Cola Headquarters

I had a phenomenal time getting to know everyone and I managed to get everyone’s signature in my handbook to prove I met all 250! The Coca-cola Scholars 2011 Facebook page is also extremely active, and I love hearing about everyone’s endeavors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QulRjSxXPM

I am extremely honored to have been chosen to receive the Angier B. Duke Merit Scholarship from Duke University! This will allow me to go to Duke and pursue a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science without incurring any debt. Along with the full tuition coverage, I will have funding to pursue private research and bond with a close knit group of other present and past scholars throughout my duke years and beyond.

Needless to say I’m very excited!

http://www.abduke.org/scholars/scholars.aspx

Hello, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie Sun readers, if you’re interested in seeing a video of my turbine in action, click the link:

http://www.workbygavin.com/work/fully-submersible-water-turbine

On Friday and Saturday (Feb 25 & 26) I competed in the exciting Twin Cities Regional Science Fair!

While I had to stand by my booth for 5 hours on Friday, I got to meet some nice fellow students and talk to a lot of judges (I’m guessing 14 adults total).

On Saturday I was overjoyed by the award results which are listed here:

Gavin Ovsak, Eden Prairie High School, The Creation and Testing of a Fully Submersible Geared Water Turbine for Alternative Energy Production

·         ISEF Top Finalist (awarded an opportunity to attend Intel’s international competition in May 2011)

·         3M Renewable Energy Award

·         American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota Honor Award

·         Medtronic Foundation Corporate Sponsor Award

·         United States Army – Award for Exemplary Research

·         United States Navy – Office of Naval Research Medal

·         Top ribbon signifying qualification to the Minnesota State Science Fair Competition in March

·         Research Paper Competition Finalist signifying qualification to the North Central Tri-State Junior Science & Humanities Symposium in March

·         Advancement to the Tri-State Science Fair (Optional because I already got into ISEF)

·         Advancement to the JSHS State Competition (If I win this, I get to go to JSHS!)

I’m really looking forward to going back to ISEF!

- Gavin Ovsak