INPERSON
MAKING WAVES IN WATER
TESTING INNOVATION
North Allegheny’s Meghna Behari places third in Broadcom
MASTERS competition for her Aquabot invention.
BY NICOLE TAFE
N
orth Allegheny Intermediate
High School ninth-grader
Meghna Behari was among
30 national finalists for the
Broadcom MASTERS—the nation’s
most prestigious competition for middle
school students in the STEM fields of
science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.
Behari participated in the Covestro
Pittsburgh Regional Science &
Engineering Fair, or Covestro PRSEF—
presented by Carnegie Science Center—
in March of last year leading to her
nomination for the initial phase of the
Broadcom MASTERS competition.
Behari, 15, is the daughter of Jaideep
Behari and Vanitha Swaminathan of
Franklin Park, and is highly involved both
academically and extracurricularly.
“North Allegheny offers many
programs and clubs that I enjoy,” she
says. “I am part of the school’s robotics
and computer club, and I also run long
distance for the Track and Field team.”
Behari is also part of Girls of Steel,
Carnegie Mellon University’s all-girl
robotics club, which has helped expand
her skills in computer science and
robotics. “Through Girls of Steel and my
participation in North Allegheny’s clubs,
I developed an interest in engineering and
robotics specifically,” she notes.
The Broadcom MASTERS program
is a nationwide science and engineering
competition for middle school students.
Affiliated regional science fairs across the
country allow their first, second and third
place winners in each category to apply
for the program.
Meghna Behari with her invention: Aquabot.
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“In eighth grade, I got second place
at the Pittsburgh Regional Engineering
and Science fair,” says Behari. “From
there, I qualified to apply online where I
answered questions about my project—
both essay questions, and questions about
me as a person. From there, 500 semi-
finalists were picked for the MASTERS
program. I was picked as a top-30 finalist,
and was able to go on an all-expenses paid
trip to Washington D.C. at the beginning
of my ninth grade year.” In D.C., the
finalists participated in a week of exciting
challenges and amazing opportunities.
Behari’s project was definitely one that
held a special place in her heart and hit
close to home. “A few years ago, I was
hearing a lot about contamination in lakes
and creeks really close to my house,” she
explains. “I worked with a Water Quality
Inspector to collect data in some of my
local waterways. Water Quality Inspectors
go on a weekly basis to collect data in
local waterways for the state. Working
with an inspector, I realized he didn’t
have an efficient way to collect data, and
that he had to do this on a weekly basis.
I wanted to create something that could
simplify the water testing process, which
could be used by citizens, scientists and
even residents in Third-World countries.”
And so Behari came up with
Aquabot—best described as a robotic
device to simplify water quality
testing by testing and tracking points
of contamination in wate