ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)- In New Mexico, students are accomplishing so much in the field of STEM. One of those students is 16-year-old Lillian Petersen whose project took first place at this year’s Supercomputing Challenge.
Lillian and her project partner Garyk Brixi used publicly available datasets to help improve the nutrition of two million kids in Africa.
“My partner and I created a computer program in order to help treat acute malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is really important because malnutrition remains the leading cause of child death and is responsible for over 3 million child deaths each year,” said Lillian
She explains her program predicts where malnutrition will be and optimizes the ingredients and supply logistics of treatment recipes. Lillian says severely malnourished children are unable to gain weight properly due to changes in their bodies. She explains this treatment would fulfill these children’s required nutrient intake which would help them recover.
Intern at Be Greater Than Average, Benjamin Bock says his company reached out to Lillian to highlight her work and research using datasets. Be Greater Than Average teaches students about the technology of robotics, as well as critical project management skills. Click here to learn more about available programs at Be Greater Than Average.
Lillian Petersen analyzes large data sets to answer socially relevant questions. You can find more information about her research by visiting her website.
Registration for the 2019-2020 Supercomputing Challenge begins on September 1. Click here to learn more about the challenge.
