Winners Announced in Second Annual Zeidman Awards

CUPERTINO, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 15, 2016) - Bob Zeidman, a pioneer in the fields of analyzing and synthesizing software source code, is proud to announce the six winners of the second annual Zeidman Awards. The awards recognize middle school students in the fields of electrical engineering or computer science who demonstrate an advanced knowledge of electronics or computer programming to solve challenges in a unique and efficient manner. The awards were presented on Sunday, August 14 at a breakfast at the Computer History Museum.

The award recipients were selected in March this year from the 16th Synopsys Science & Technology Championship at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, where hundreds of middle and high school students from Santa Clara County displayed their research projects. Eleven Silicon Valley engineers and scientists reviewed presentations and interviewed students, and then selected 12 finalists from among 98 eligible projects. Zeidman conducted interviews with each finalist before determining the six winners.

"It was great to offer this award for the second year," said Bob Zeidman. "The award winners were again exceptional students who had done original research and created novel inventions. It gives me hope for the future. I'd also like to thank the judges this year: Andrew Cromarty, Bin Lee, Bob Baird, Eugene Mirkin, Evan Kovanis, Kiet Tran, Lee Felsenstein, Mike Ivanov, Nik Baer, Syed Gilani, and Tom Coughlin."

Awards included cash prizes and signed copies of Zeidman's book, "Just Enough Electronics to Impress Your Friends and Colleagues!" The winners are:

First Place

• Raghav Ganesh, Miller Middle School, San Jose: Characterizing Brain Activity using Facial Feature Recognition and Gaze Tracking

Second Place

• Matthew Cho, Kennedy Middle School, Cupertino: Smart Shoes: An Innovative Method to Analyze and Correct Improper Gait

Third Place

• Andrew Chiang, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley School, San Jose: Force Sensing Techniques for Robotic Arms

Honorable Mentions

• Jayanth S Pennathur, Carden Academy of Almaden, San Jose: An "i" for an Eye
• Johan D.S. Vonk, Blach Intermediate School, Los Altos: Pitch Detection on Arduino using Autocorrelation
• Kaushjk Sai Tota, Cupertino Middle School, Cupertino: Developing Magnesium-Air Fuel Cells

About Bob Zeidman
Bob Zeidman is an inventor and entrepreneur whose ventures include Zeidman Consulting, Zeidman Technologies, Software Analysis and Forensic Engineering, Z Enterprises, SamAnna Design, and Swiss Creek Publications. Bob holds 22 patents and earned degrees in physics and electrical engineering from Cornell University and Stanford University.