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CCISD high school students heading to state, international science fair

Posted at 2:37 PM, Feb 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-19 19:04:53-05

Two CCISD high school students are going to the state science fair after winning big at this past weekend’s regional science fair at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.

Ibrahim Al-Akash, a sophomore at Veterans Memorial High School, built a robotic surgical device using a Nintendo switch gaming console. He mated the switch with a Di Vinci surgical system. The result is an easy-to-use surgical platform.

“I just thought maybe if I put in an easier to use control system, the performance can be enhanced,” said Al-Akash.

Al-Akash wants to be a surgeon some day, and says a device like this might make the job easier.

Meanwhile, Adrian Alamillo, a senior at King High School, invented a special football helmet padding that can detect concussions.

Take a hard enough hit, and “it sets off a paintball that explodes within it, signaling a concussion,” said Alamillo.

For Alamillo, whose own football career was cut short by pediatric epilepsy, the project hits close to home.

“This doesn’t have to be the case with any other player,” said Alamillo. “I want to protect every player’s future and their career.”

Now, Al-Akash and Alamillo will take their inventions to the state competition in College Station in March, and the Intel International Science Fair in Arizona in May.

“I’m very happy,” said Al-Akash. “I’m very excited for the next levels of the competition.”