Mangaluru : A high school student from Puttur, Dakshina Kannada, has won the bronze medal at the International Sustainable World (Energy Engineering Environment) Project Olympiad (I-SWEEP), conducted at Houston, Texas, United States, from April 26 to May 1.

The girl — 14-year-old Aneesha Nayak — has passed Class 9 at Sudana Residential School, Puttur, and will be studying in Class 10 during 2016-17. She bagged the medal for her project titled ‘Hydrophobicity of Colocasia Esculenta leaves as a wall protector’ under the ‘Environment-Management and Pollution’ category. Sadhana Hebbar, a science teacher at the school, was her guide.

Ms. Nayak is also an Asian-level surfer and a member of Mantra Surf Club in Mulki, near Mangaluru.

There were 585 projects from 62 countries in the race.

Ms. Nayak was one among the two girls who represented India at the competition. She will return to Mangaluru on May 4. This was her first attempt at I-SWEEP, Ms. Bhakta added.

I-SWEEEP is the largest science fair competition open to high school students. It is organised by Harmony Public Schools, a K-12 Public Charter School System.