Watch now: Teens put minds to the test at Normal innovation contest – The Pantagraph

NORMAL It was on Snapchat where University High School junior Sirihaasa Nallamothu discovered how a girl suffering from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome can faint sometimes without warning.

Nallamothu followed videos documenting the girl as she passed out from vasovagal syncope while making dinner, or panicked as her symptom began while driving.

Nallamothu said those reels were sad, and they inspired her to start brainstorming ways to help out people with POTS, which affects 1 to 3 million Americans. She then learned she was the first to collect research done on humans.

I thought there maybe would be some sort of data set for me to use online, but its such an under-researched field, so no one has ever done it before, she said.

Mark Jontry, left, judging Saturday for the Celebrating High School Innovators final contest at Hancock Stadium, hears a proposal from University High School Junior Sirihaasa Nallamothu on how to predict sudden fainting in people who have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Nallamothu joined other high school students Saturday morning at the Hancock Stadium club room in Normal to present her project. She was among 24 other teams that made it to the finals in this years Celebrating High School Innovators competition, which tasks young students with creating new products, solving major social problems and changing the world.

Without exception, these high school innovators make amazing things happen, said Paul Ritter, CHSI director and ecology teacher at Pontiac Township High School. He added each team is passionate about something different.

Winners earn a cash prize and scholarships. However, Ritter continued, the real prize for the students is getting to meet each other and share ideas.

While several dozen teams showed up in person, at least another three dozen participated virtually, from as far away as Turkey. Project ideas included enhanced mobility canes, liquid screen protectors for mobile phones, eco-friendly sneakers, governance proposals for Mars colonization and more.

These kids are setting the stage for the future, said Ritter. Their innovations are leading the way and theyre proof that our future is in great hands.

Nallamothu said her idea was to use biomarkers and machine learning to try to predict fainting symptoms within 15 minutesof happening. To do that, she collected data on blood pressure, heart rate, blood volumetric pressure, accelerometer readings and electrodermal activity, or how much a person sweats.

She said shes in her second phase of research,with 10 people whove given permission to collect their health data. Nallamothu hopes to have her predictive algorithm working in July. She plans to study computer science in college.

Keep I-55 clean

Three seniors at Pontiac Township High School are aiming to clean up Interstate 55 in Livingston County. Molly Masching, Ashlyn Bernard and Georgie Dinardi linked up with the Illinois Department of Transportation to study where and why more litter is being found near the highway.

From right to left, Molly Mascing, Georgie Dinardi, andAshlyn Bernard pose for a photo in between rounds of judging Saturday at the Celebrating High School Innovators contest. The trio of Pontiac Township High School seniors are developing recommendations with the Illinois Department of Transportation to reduce litter on I-55.

Masching said they hypothesized more trash was ending up on the north side of the interstate, because their county has a large landfill nearby and the majority of traffic comes from the north. After recording collected amounts of trash, they found their theory was correct.

Were meeting with the Livingston County Board and the Livingston County Landfill to start our plan of action, Masching said.

While the project has not yet concluded any corrective actions to recommend, Masching said theyre looking at enforcing existing regulations that require covering truck beds with tarps, staying under a weight limit or using new linings.

Bernard pointed to a net they brought with their presentation, explaining that holes in the net could let loose small pieces of litter.

Its something that we see every day, said Masching.

Next-gen irrigation

Khushi Shah, an Illinois Math & Science Academy student hailing from Peoria, is developing a smart irrigation system for her project. She said it optimizes water use while minimizing consumer costs through the use of sensors and a mobile or web app.

It has the potential to save 4.5 to 13 billion liters of water daily out of 450 billion that are used for irrigation, said Shah.

She said her system combines information from a global weather and plant database with a sensor that monitors moisture levels in soil, and then automatically engages irrigation systems when needed. While shes using another sensor brand, Shah hopes to develop her own in the future.

She said shes passionate about technology, sustainability and entrepreneurship.

This is a great way for me to combine all of those interests, she said.

Khushi Shah, right, poses for a photo with father, Vaibhav Shah, left, in between rounds of judging Saturday at the Celebrating High School Innovators contest at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

Her father, Vaibhav Shah, was there Saturday to support her. He said he never had these opportunities when he was a kid.

I'm super excited to see her getting into this technology and trying to solve the problems that I have seen in my life, living in India and other places where water is not easily available, he said.

The proud dad also said the future is in good hands.

Later on Saturday afternoon, Shah was named as one of the top five winners in the contest.

In no specific order, the other four were: IMSA student Dhruv Patel, of Elk Grove Village; Barrington High School student Sahil Mittal, of Barrington; IMSA student Umika Arora, of Morton Grove; and BHS student Ryan Tripathy, of Barrington.

This article has been updated to reflect contest results that became available after press time.

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Seven-year-old Kennedi Carson, of Bloomington, left, pets "Pickle," a resident rabbit at Miller Park Zoo, held by Junior Zookeeper Molly Forbes, right, on Saturday.

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Nine-month old Ava Turner, of Downs, left, and 7-month-old Braxden Logsdon, of Stanford, take photos with the Birthday Bunny on Saturday at Miller Park Zoo.

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Joseph Kullman, of Normal, successfully hunts down hidden eggs on Saturday, April 9, at Miller Park Zoo.

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Four-year-old Kinsley Snell, of Ottawa, smiles as she finishes crafting a paper bunny hat with ears on Saturday at Miller Park Zoo.

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Watch now: Teens put minds to the test at Normal innovation contest - The Pantagraph