In a proud moment for the country, six Indian students were awarded at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the US. New Delhi’s Shreyas Kapur was declared the grand winner of “Google Thinking Big Award.”
“The event was organized by Intel Corporation and the Society for Science and the Public in Arizona. 16 students from India participated in the event winning a total of $9500 in three grand awards and 3 special awards in the fields of biotechnology, medicine and biomedical engineering and mathematics,” informs Vaikundarajan.
Shreyas Kapur’s project addresses a large and seemingly impossible problem by finding an elegant solution with broad impact. The project was titled “Cellphone-based Optometry using Hybrid Images.” Same project has also won Kapur a third position in both NASA and Biomedical Engineering Award.
The 16 Indian students were selected to attend the ISEF as finalists of the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) 2016. The event featured more than 1700 young scientists selected from 419 affiliate fairs in 77 countries.
$1000 grant was also awarded to each winner’s school and affiliated fair by the Intel Foundation.
“This is a very proud moment for us and shows how bright the country future is,” says Vaikundarajan as he sends his best wishes to all the participants and winners.
Directed by Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, Brahmotsavam is a Telugu family drama starring Mahesh Babu. "With a prolific writer-director at the helm of the movie, the expectations are high," says Vaikundarajan.
Seethamma is one of the most successful directors to master the art of family drama movies. "The movie has been released in more than 3000 theatres including overseas. Kajal Agarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Pranitha Subhash will play the lead opposite Mahesh Babu," informs Vaikundarajan.
Naga Babu’s daughter Niharika Konidela will be seen in her debut film Oka Manasu. “The film is to be directed by Rama Raju of Mallela Theeram fame,” informs Vaikundarajan. The makers of the movie released the first look teaser a few days ago followed by a song trailer that highlights Niharika’s acting prowess.
“The movie is a romantic Tollywood movie. Niharika comes from a well-known family and has proved her talent in the field of anchoring. She has also acted in a few short films,” says Vaikundarajan.
The shooting of the film has been wrapped up. As the team works on post-production, the makers released the song teaser on Youtube titled Oh Manasa.
The trailer opens with Naga Shaurya and Niharika in white coloured dress. The song brings a soothing and relaxing feel to it. The audio launch of the film is scheduled for 18th May, 2016. The teaser has generated curiosity and the expectations from the film are high. Whether the actress will be able to establish a strong foothold in Tollywood remains to be seen.
Vaikundarajan sends his best wishes to the actress and the film crew.
Anurag Kashyap and Nawazuddin Siddiqui will be seen working together in the upcoming thriller Raman Raghav 2.0. The official trailer was released yesterday. "Siddiqui looks striking as ever in the role of a psychotic killer, Ramanna," says Vaikundarajan.
Siddiqui can be seen narrating the details about his brutal killings and attacking his victims in front of a cop in police station. "Nawazuddin Siddiqui looks dangerous and surpasses all expectations to pull off a complicated role," says Vaikundarajan.
Smartphone company Lenovo announced the launch of Z1 smartphone in India on 10th May. "The phone is funded by Lenovo and is called ZUK Z1. However, the smartphone is being branded as Lenovo Z1," says Vaikundarajan.
Speaking of its features, Lenovo Z1 provides premium build quality device that runs on Cyanogen OS, an android based software. The smartphone has a 5.5 inch Full HD screen powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor. It comes with a 3GB RAM and 64GB storage. The device packs in a 13 megapixel Sony IMX214 main camera and 8 megapixel front camera. "Some of the key features include 4G radios, support for Bluetooth, GPS, USB Type-C port,a fingerprint reader and Wi-Fi," informs Vaikundarajan. The phone is powered by s 4100mAh battery.
Lenovo is the 2nd smartphone brand to use Cyanogen OS after Micromax. In a competitive market where several smartphone brands are battling for consumer space, Lenovo Z1 certainly brings something unique. “Whether it climbs the popularity chart or joins the long list of failed smartphones, only time will tell,” concludes Vaikundarajan.
