Namrata Anand
California
Namrata Anand, 17, of Los Altos Hills, used spectral analysis and nearly a
decade's worth of data to expose key information about the chemical enrichment
history of the Andromeda Galaxy for her Intel Science Talent Search project in
physics & space sciences. By qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing the
chemical spectra of two populations - red giants in the Andromeda Galaxy Field and
nearby dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies - she demonstrated that the Field
sample is chemically richer. She believes that chemical analysis projects like
hers, focusing on patterns of metallicity, have the potential to identify
locations in space with a high probability of extraterrestrial life. Namrata's
work will form a major section of a paper being prepared for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal; she will be a co-author. Active in musical theater at The
Harker School in San Jose, Namrata has appeared in 17 dance and drama
productions and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also studies
Indian classical music (Carnatic) and competes in cross country and on
problem-solving and engineering teams. The daughter of R.K. and Nina Anand, she
plans to attend Harvard or Stanford.
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