Last February, we introduced you to Vetri Vel, a 16 year old from Bangor High that had captured the attention of some of the Nation's top thinkers in the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

"The  Regeneron Science Talent Search has been going on since 1942. Some of the students who have won this competition have gone on to win other prestigious National Medals of Science, and even Nobel prizes."

Vel had made it to the Final Top 40 round of student scientists (out of 1700 applicants from across the country) and was vying for that prestigious title.

Vetri Vel, Twitter The Jackson Laboratory
Vetri Vel, Twitter The Jackson Laboratory
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According to the Society For Science website, Vel managed to place in the Top 10 in the Nation, coming in at 6th place. Vel will take home tens of thousands of dollars in prize money that he can use to further his education!

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"...Vel...received a $80,000 award for his project engineering a deep learning system that combines a small computer and a thermal camera to detect heat signatures of a fallen person and immediately text for help. His hands-free detection system was able to distinguish among competing images to identify a fallen person at an average accuracy of 98 percent. He started his project after a neighbor collapsed alone at home. Falls are a leading cause of fatal injury among older adults."

According to the Bangor School Department Facebook Page, Science is not the only thing Vel exceeds at:

"At BHS, Vetri is a varsity runner, a member of the science bowl team, and captain and top-ranked scorer on the varsity math team. He also volunteers as a virtual math tutor for his peers."

The school department confirms that Vel has already been accepted to MIT where he will head for his first year this fall, after graduating from Bangor High this Spring, with honors.

Way to go Vetri Vel!

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