Student Advisors Join CaIC Board of Directors

January 25, 2022

We thrilled to welcome our first Student Advisors to the California Invention Convention Board of Directors.  Both of our students are inventors who have participated in our events and bring valuable perspectives on how we can improve our program and expand outreach to students around California.

Neel Chandran is a sophomore at El Cerrito High School in El Cerrito, CA.  He sees himself as an inventive, creative thinker and hands-on problem solver with a passion for helping the community, with a keen interest in energy and environment.  At the 2020 California invention Convention, he presented the Bamboo Racer –  designed to eliminate non-biodegradable waste being created by e-bikes and e-scooters. He was a winner at that event and advanced to the National Invention Convention. At the 2021 California invention Convention, he was awarded the Chevron Energy Award  and advanced to the National Invention Convention for his invention the Regen Cart, a system for renewable energy generation by capturing the energy of people walking in retail stores.

Pavith Khara is a rising 9th grader at Basis Independent School in Fremont, CA.  She finds joy in exploring novel ways of solving problems and has strong leadership and mentorship skills, especially around STEM subjects and topics. As a 6th grader from Gomes Elementary School in Fremont, she participated in the 2020 California Invention Convention  where she presented the Portable Musical Drawer  – a portable and detachable musical drawer compatible with most music stands to solve a common problem for on-the-go accessories for musician’s instruments- solving a problem that she, as a flutist, knows well.  She advanced to the 2020 National Invention Convention. Pavith says that she loved her experience with CaIC and she sees exposure to the program as a gift that she hopes for every child.