Daily Wager’s Son From Odisha’s Cuttack Selected For NASA Challenge

Cuttack: Dedication to scientific innovations has enabled the son of a daily wager in Odisha’s Cuttack district to showcase his talent at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

A sincere student in his school at Baral village in 42 Mouja of the district, Basudev Bhoi was initially recognised by his teachers for his interest in scientific experiment. In order to nourish his talent, they advised him to join one of the centres of the Young Thinker Educational Foundation at Baral.

Basudev has been associated with young scientists and researchers at the centre for a long time. He has assisted them in several projects on space, robotics and others. Finally, he was selected to participate in the NASA challenge.

Basudev is one of six students selected by the Foundation from Odisha for the NASA competition. He will present his project at the Robot Challenge 2023 in NASA. He has prepared the project under the supervision of young scientist Anil Pradhan of the Foundation.

Speaking to the media about his selection, Basudev said, “Space and robotics have been my main interest in science projects in the school. Thanks to the Foundation, I have been able to give shape to my talent in its laboratory. I am happy that I have been selected in the team for the NASA challenge.”

Anil, who had trained a team of 10 students and helped them participate in NASA space challenge in 2021, said, “Basudev has been associated with our centre at Baral village for the last 7 years. He is one of the members of our team who will participate in the NASA challenge. He is a very sincere student and has keen interest in science projects. We could know that he has an inherent talent for scientific innovation for which we selected him to enable him to showcase his talent at an international platform.”

Basudev’s father said it was a matter of pride for him that his son would present his project in NASA. “As I am a daily labourer, I could not afford sending him to private school. However, by dint of his own efforts and dedication, he has got an opportunity to prove his capabilities,” he said.