Yesterday I returned from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, GA. This was an amazingly fun trip; not only was it an opportunity to present my work to many researchers and professionals in my field, but I also made so many new friends from traveling with a great group of people. See the photos of my trip.
We arrived on Saturday night, and we walked into the grandiose lobby of the Hyatt Regency. The open-air lobby was 22 stories high with glass elevators.
Sunday: We went touring near Marietta, Georgia, and visited museums and parks in the area. We went grocery shopping to get candy, chips, soda. That evening we returned to trade pins with people from all over the world. I got some very interesting pins, like a frog from Puerto Rico, a panda from China, and a leaf from Costa Rica.
On Monday, we set up our projects. In our free time, we hung out at the E-Lounge, surfed the web, and watched The Italian Job in the home theater setup there. At the opening ceremony, we were treated to an amazing drum performance and an “International Shout-Out”, in which students representing 51 countries carried posters onto the stage.
That night we also ended up getting lost because we needed to take a detour around construction work. During our journey back to the hotel, we experienced city traffic, at its best: we encountered dead ends, accidentally went the wrong way on a one-way street, and almost got hit by someone speeding through a red light.
Tuesday night we visited the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola, as a welcome by the host committee. The World of Coca-Cola had free soda tasting stations, with hundreds of different Coke flavors and brands from the world. After getting back, we practiced our presentations and went to bed early in anticipation of judging day—Wednesday.
The morning of judging was tense. This was it: the big day, the culmination of a year’s worth of work. The opportunity to present and impress. After putting on formal clothes and buying a Danish pastry from the hotel cafe, I walked to the convention center. I talked to many, many judges who came to my display, and it was a great experience to discuss my project with them. I felt much more confident after having learned many tips on presenting.
They were impressed by my demo, and I got many positive comments about the monitor built into my display board. Though it lasted from 8:30 in the morning until 6, the hours went by so quickly. After the final announcement of the day, a wave of applause rushed through the exhibit hall, increasing in intensity until the room was filled with cheering. It was satisfying to know that it was finally over—we could relax!
Just for fun we decided to explore the hotel, and climbed the stairways. We were surprised when the “alarm” door to the roof was open. The roof was covered with skylights, and we could see the executive penthouse on the top. We were a little nervous about standing on the non-concrete rubbery white tiles, but we were surrounded by a magnificent view of the city, no guardrails, and nothing separating us from the air.
Thursday and Friday, we had the special awards, and then the grand awards ceremonies. This has been the most successful year for me yet; I received a total of $9,500 in awards:
- Third Place Grand Award of $1,000 in Computer Science
- Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence – Second Place Award of $500
- Office of Naval Research on behalf of the United States Navy and Marine Corps – Tuition Scholarship Award of $8,000
On the flight back Friday night, we watched the sun set in slow motion as the plane flew west against the Earth’s rotation. It was an incredible experience, and I could only wish to stay longer. I’m looking forward to participating again next year!