Though the stars are bright, it seems that the future of a certain GMSD STEM student might prove even brighter. Nipun Rajan, a Farmington fifth grader, was awarded as a semifinalist apart of the NASA and American Society of Mechanical Engineers Foundation’s Future Engineers Challenge.

Future Engineers is an online education platform that hosts national student innovation challenges, and this competition offered two age divisions: Teen (ages 13-19) and Junior (ages 5-12). Winners from each division were chosen from 565 submitted designs.

For the competition, students were asked to invent a multifunctional object that could combine two items into one for 3-D printing by crew members aboard the International Space Station. Nipun’s entry, which he dubbed the Super Space Tool, innovatively combined an array of necessary tools, including two kinds of screwdrivers, a scale, serrated saw, hex wrench, and more. He described it personally as a “must for the pockets of all astronauts”.  Check out a 3-D model of his intelligent design at the link below:

http://www.futureengineers.org/Gallery/Details/7561

As one of the twenty semifinalists selected, Nipun will receive a “3-D printing in space” prize pack and a Makerbot 3-D Printer for his elementary school. This is the second consecutive year a GMSD student has been recognized in the contest—receiving the prize packages for their schools.