Updated 5/13/2021 5:47 PM
A Fremd High School senior bound for Harvard University in the fall was named Thursday one of only three 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars in Illinois.
Pavan Venkatesh Pandurangi of Palatine. who plans to major in computer science at Harvard, believes it was his recent work in that field that made him stand out in consideration for the academic honor.
Pavan developed an algorithm that can help diagnose malaria. He thinks the challenges of the independent research required during the pandemic year were recognized as much as the successful outcome.
Had the project occurred any other year, it likely would have been linked to a university and had other supportive connections that would have made the work easier, Pavan said.