Rancho eighth-grader wins People’s Choice Award in Google Science Fair

A Rancho San Joaquin Middle School student has earned a $10,000 scholarship by winning the People’s Choice Award in the inaugural Google Science Fair.

Eighth-grader Nimal Subramanian became one of 60 semifinalists in the contest after submitting a project that examined whether anti-cancer agents used in food inhibit the germination and protein content in experimental seeds. The science fair field has since been narrowed to 15 finalists, but Google offered up a separate prize for the entry that received the most online votes. Nimal, who was the top vote-getter at the May 20 deadline, was announced as the People’s Choice Award winner on Monday. “I was shocked when I saw that my project was on the front page of the Google Science Fair website," Nimal said. "I felt a sense of pride after thinking through that the public appreciated my hard work. It was a great feeling to see that many people around the world liked my project." The first-ever Google Science Fair drew approximately 7,500 entries from more than 10,000 students in 90-plus countries. To read a summary of Nimal’s project, or to watch a brief video about it, click here. Update: The Orange County Register has posted a Q&A with Nimal on its website. Click here to read it.