Prathyush P. Poduval (18), a Mangalore (Karnataka)-based STEM enthusiast, is member of a five-strong national team which cleared three rigorous elimination rounds this April to be selected to represent India at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2018, scheduled to be staged in Beijing (China) in November. Forty teams from 45 countries worldwide will compete for top honours at IOAA 2018.
An alumnus of the state board-affiliated Canara Pre-University College, Mangalore, Prathyush has been a regular participant in physics and math national olympiads for the past four years. However, this is the first time he will be competing internationally.
This young student who cleared his class XII school-leaving exam in March with a 92 percent average believes he is ready for IOAA 2018, because qualifying for the international olympiad was a rigorous three-tier elimination process comprising a preliminary examination (held last November) followed by the Indian national olympiad (January) exam written by 400 students and a 20-day orientation and selection camp at Pune’s Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in April. Five national olympiad winners were selected to represent India at IOAA 2018 from among 31 finalists. During the selection camp, the finalists are administered three theory, two data analysis and one observation tests.
Earlier this year, Prathyush was a Karnataka topper in the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) 2017-18 of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore which has admitted him into its four-year bachelor of science programme starting this month.
The eldest child of Sunitha, a homemaker, and Prasanth Poduval, an electrical engineer with the public sector behemoth Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd, Prathyush is intensifying his preparations for the IOAA 2018. “I am eagerly looking forward to my undergrad education at IISc, which is a dream come true. The institute’s newly opened astronomy club offers a range of exciting activities which will definitely help me in my preparations,” he enthuses.
Sruthy Susan Ullas (Bangalore)