Wind Turbines, Davidson Fellows, Elliptic Curves, Events, & Artwork
Letter? I Hardly Know Her! - Newsletter Debut: 10/2021
Welcome, WELCOME to Letter? I Hardly Know Her! I’m Apoorva (the her in question), a 16 y/o researcher, artist, writer, keynote speaker, and advocate for youth and gender minorities in STEAM. This newsletter is a means for me to keep track of my personal & professional growth, and share all the good stuff I’m working on! First-timers: it’s so nice to meet you, I’m glad you’re here! For my regular hardly-knowers, here’s your promised, extra special greeting: welcome again you brilliant, gorgeous, absolute gem of a person–seeing you again is like eating a Toblerone: the joy of it never gets old.
If you too want an extra greeting, you better subscribe:
As a heads up, I publish newsletters on each MONTH/MONTH, i.e. 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, … , 12/12. Is it the most efficient system? Frankly, no. But is it the most funky fresh? Absolutely it is.
Hey Hardly-Knowers, welcome to the newsletter debut!! Let’s get right into this month’s shenanigans.
2021 Davidson Fellows Ceremony
I’m super honored to share that I was named one of four to be named a 2021 Davidson Fellows Laureate, receiving an incredible $50,000 scholarship for my research in number theory!! If you’re interested, you can read more about my work here. A virtual ceremony celebrating the fellows’ extraordinary work in STEM, Literature, and Music went live on September 30, so definitely check it out to hear about all their innovative research (seriously, it’s insanely cool). A huge thank you to my mentor Dr. Jesse Thorner, my parents, and my friends for all their support–I'm so grateful for you all.
Building a Wind Turbine
For a project in my engineering class, we were tasked with building a mini wind turbine by designing our own blade and tower in order to maximize power. This was my first experience with CAD and I absolutely LOVED IT. I used SolidWorks to design my own blade, and though it was painstaking, it was worth it!
You can see that I used 6 planes to shape the blade–this was so that I could maximize aerodynamic efficiency by shaping the curves exactly how I wanted them. In hindsight, I could’ve improved this design by making the blades thicker and wider. Initially, I made them thinner to mimic actual wind turbines, but since this is on a smaller scale with speeds of 25 mph, the blade should be adjusted accordingly!
This is the (dope) rendered version!
As for the tower design, we weren’t allowed to use a straightforward, efficient (and boring) PVC pipe structure, so we decided to use ruler sticks. Our goal was to prioritize stiffness without immense weight, and these sticks fulfilled this perfectly! Afterwards, we used popsicle sticks as reinforcement and support, and we glued everything together using the mighty (but light) epoxy glue.
Hosting Cisco GLAM Virtual
For some context, I am the global ambassador of the Girls Leadership Academy Meetup (GLAM), an organization that brings women leaders together to inspire girls to find their voice and take on leadership positions. I’ve been a part of GLAM for 3 years now, and so far I’ve mentored over 350 girls aged 8-12 from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
In the past, my role in GLAM has mostly been as a keynote speaker at events (I was the opening keynote in London!) and as a mentor. However, I had the opportunity to step up as the Chief STEAM Advisor and be the event host for the very first time at the Cisco GLAM Virtual event! Over the course of four Saturday mornings filled with engaging talks from powerful women leaders, coding, and business pitches, I’ve grown so much as a speaker by interacting, learning from, and being inspired by the GLAM girls’ perspective on the world and how they want to change it for the better.
Keynote Speaker at Girls into Coding
Moreover, I’m excited to share that I was invited to be a keynote/lightning speaker at the Girls into Coding (GIC) event this month! GIC is a free program for girls aged 10-14 with a goal to get more girls into tech. In this event, they in participate in hands-on coding, physical computing, robotics, and 3D Design workshops!
On October 10, we talked about current innovation in each part of STEM, from artificial intelligence to gene editing, and discussed two cheat codes to creativity: “what if” statements and combinations! (shhh, don’t tell anyone)
Gems in STEM: Elliptic Curves!
As a quick recap: my column, Gems in STEM, is a place to learn about various STEM topics that I find exciting, and that I hope will excite you too! The column is always written to be fairly accessible, so you don’t have to worry about not having background knowledge. However, it does occasionally get more advanced towards the end.
This week on Gems in STEM, we discuss the basics of elliptic curves (and learn a bit of group theory along the way) through an elliptical cardio workout! Elliptic curves are a major focus of current research and interest, due to their role in Andrew Wiles's famous proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and their applications in cryptography.
Without further ado, I present to you:
”BrainCycle: Working Out Elliptic Curves with Elliptical Cardio.”
If you enjoy the article, please follow me on Medium and clap for it! (If you do, I’ll get you some Halloween candy…probably <3) Also, you’ll get an instant update for the upcoming article about…drumroll please…artificial intelligence!!
!! ARTWORK ALERT !!
This is my recent painting study of Vermeer's famous piece: "The Astronomer." It's not an exact copy, rather a looser take with brighter colors–but I really loved the original composition! If you are interested in purchasing the painting (22in x 28in), please reach out to me at apoorvaartgallery@gmail.com. The proceeds from this piece will go towards supporting Afghan women and girls (an approved organization/fund of your choice or, if preferred, one I pick). If you have any family or friends who might be interested, please share!!
This year, I joined The Knowledge Society (aka TKS) as an innovator, and it’s been an absolute blast!! Basically, TKS is a group of super motivated students looking to solve the world’s most pressing problems with emerging tech and science. So far, I’ve learned the fundamentals of AI, blockchain, and I’m gearing up to dive into nanotech!
The Fun, the Fresh, & the Funky
Since this summer, I’ve really gotten into hiking (which is kind of surprising, since I’ve never considered myself much of an athlete)! But, I now go for a hike every weekend with family and friends, and IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL, the air is always crisp, and, if you’re lucky, you can spot some wildlife!
As you can see, here’s me in a tree:
I’ve also started going to the gym at least four times a week, and it’s high-key therapeutic. I will admit that it can be hard to muster up the energy to wake up in the morning for hikes or to get up to go the gym, but I always remind myself: you’ve never regretted going to either of these things! And after a workout or hike, that happy-tired feeling is such a vibe.
An interesting book I’ve been flipping through is Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi’s The Courage to Be Disliked.
It’s a sort of philosophy/reflection on mindset study presented like a dialogue between a young student and philosopher. While it frames some ideas in pleasantly new ways, I don’t entirely agree with all of it (particularly its stance on trauma). But, it is good food for thought!
Also, ya girl’s learning how to drive!!
In my opinion, it’s going pretty well (but my mom might have a different perspective). I drove on the freeway for the first time last week and it. was. terrifying. I don’t know how people are comfortable driving at such high speeds, but I better get used to it! Still, I maintain that residential roads are *chef’s kiss* and my bread and butter.
IMPORTANT PSA!!! CLASSICAL MUSIC IS SO. FREAKING. GOOD. I used to not get the hype, but now I absolutely do, it’s like all I’ve been listening to. Particular favorites include: Raindrop Waltz No. 1 in B minor, Vivaldi Variation (Arr. for Piano from Concerto for Strings in G Minor, RV 156), and Swan Lake Op. 20, Act II No. 10, Scene (Moderato). They’re all super short, so you better give them a listen!!
Coming up next on Keeping Up With (K)Apoorva...
So, what does the next month have in store (aside from Halloween)?
Featured in Microsoft’s National STEM Day
I’m so honored to be invited to speak at Microsoft’s 2021 National STEM Day celebration on November 8th, an event designed to inspire and motivate students from underrepresented and minority communities in technological fields.
As a featured stand-out individual in STEM due to my research and work for gender inclusivity, they invited me to speak to thousands of students during a virtual fireside chat around the world to teach some exciting and interactive math, answer questions, and to share my story + offer advice. I’m beyond excited and thrilled to be a part of this event–I’ll be sure to share any further details with you all!
AI-ght, What’s All This Then?: A Comprehensive Intro to Artificial Intelligence
In the next week or so, I’ll be publishing a new article on Medium that outlines everything you need to know about AI in order to hold a riveting Thanksgiving conversation about it (that is, if the fam can stop arguing about politics). Make sure to follow me on Medium to get an instant update on when it goes live! To tide yourself over til then, check out some of my other articles in Gems in STEM (I promise you won’t be disappointed <3)
Learning about blockchain, nanotech, & longevity
As a part of TKS, I’ve already started learning about blockchain and its potential to revolutionize finance, healthcare, media, and more! I’m planning on similarly researching nanotech and longevity. (Can we live forever?)
Building a robot!
Now that our wind turbine project has wrapped up, next up is building a companion robot!! I’m so excited for this one, not only will we be programming it–we’ll also be soldering components to an infrared receiver board :O Exciting stuff!
And that’s a wrap!! Congrats on making it this far, hardly-knowers, y’all are the best. If you aren’t already subscribed, what are you doing?? Get on it, hit that button below to get your extra special greeting in the next newsletter!
Sincerely,
Her (Apoorva)
(…get it? because it’s a letter?)
Feel free to contact me about speaker events, comments, and anything else at apoorvapanidapu@gmail.com!
Now that you are ready to delete “hardly” from Letter? I Hardly Know Her!, I would greatly appreciate you sharing this so that my publication name doesn’t become irrelevant & obsolete! <3