Award for Research in Cognitive Neuroscience

Tanvi from Grade 12 recently took part in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where she was awarded third place by the American Psychological Association (APA). To reach the ISEF, Tanvi took part in the Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM (IRIS) National Fair, where she won the Grand Award for her project in the Behavioural and Social Sciences category. We contacted Tanvi to learn more about her achievements and what this may mean for the future.

Tanvi has been at TISB since 2009. This year she graduated with the Cohort of 2021, and has been accepted to Brown University, in Providence, USA, to study Cognitive Neuroscience. During this term she has spent her free time by participating in the IRIS and the ISEF, where she has done research and presentations in the area of face blindness. At the ISEF, finalists were competing for USD 5 million in awards, prizes and scholarships. 1,800 participants from over 80 countries, regions, and territories around the world took part.

Winning third place in her category stunned Tanvi. “After I got over my initial shock, I felt extremely honoured that the APA acknowledged my project as relevant and worthy of the award”, says Tanvi, who is grateful to everybody – mentors, fellow teammates and family – who have helped her getting this far.

The journey to her award has been challenging, especially due to the current situation world-wide due to the COVID-19 virus. “The pandemic made it impossible for me to collect my own primary data, but I compensated for it by using secondary data instead”, explains Tanvi, who despite the vast amount of data and results managed to condense her entire research into a short ten-minute presentation that was given to the judging APA panel.

As for the future Tanvi is interested in continuing researching face blindness, and eventually raise awareness of this cognitive disorder in India. “I think that my research could potentially help make the diagnostic process of face blindness more holistic and reliable”, says Tanvi. She recommends other students to walk down her route and deepen their experience in different topics: “ISEF is a great opportunity to not only learn how to perform and present your research, but also to meet other like-minded students and scientists from around the globe”.

To find out more about the competitions and how to join, visit the IRIS website and ISEF website.