Pranav Sivakumar

Pranav Sivakumar (they/them) is an American speller, amateur researcher, and composer. In 2013, they finished second in the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee, finished second in the Illinois State Geography Bee, and was named a Siemens Competition National Semifinalist."Calm Tower Lakes Teen Finishes Second in National Spelling Bee." DailyHerald.com. Daily Herald, 31 May 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014."CHAMPIONSHIP FINALISTS." Championship Finalists. Scripps National Spelling Bee, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.O'Shea, Bridget. "Barrington's Pranav Sivakumar a Global Finalist in Google Science Fair." Barrington Courier Review. Chicago Sun-Times, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014 Their National Spelling Bee achievements earned them recognition by Pat Quinn, who declared June 8, 2014 "Pranav Sivakumar Day.""2014-267 Pranav Sivakumar Day." EbscoHost. EBSCO Publishing, 7 July 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2014 In 2014 they were admitted as a student at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, where they graduated in 2017. They attended UC Berkeley. They were the first person to be a Google Science Fair Global Finalist twice and won the Virgin Galactic Pioneer Award in 2015.{{Cite web|title = Home - Google Science Fair 2015|url = https://www.googlesciencefair.com/en/|website = www.googlesciencefair.com|accessdate = 2015-09-22}}{{Cite web|title = Pranav Sivakumar Wins Virgin Galactic Pioneer Award in 2015 Google Science Fair {{!}} Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy|url = https://www.imsa.edu/content/pranav-sivakumar-wins-virgin-galactic-pioneer-award-2015-google-science-fair|website = www.imsa.edu|accessdate = 2015-09-24}} Pranav was mentioned in President Barack Obama's speech at the White House Astronomy Night.{{Cite web|title = Indian-American kid gets a shout-out from Obama|url = http://www.greatandhra.com/articles/special-articles/indian-american-kid-gets-a-shout-out-from-obama-69914.html|website = greatandhra.com|accessdate = 2015-10-20}} Sivakumar was named the $20,000 individual winner of the 2016 Siemens Competition National Finals.{{Citation|last=siemensfoundation|title=Pranav Sivakumar - 2016 Siemens Competition Individual Winner|date=2017-01-12|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-F1Xhdufwc|accessdate=2017-01-13}}

Childhood

Sivakumar's aspirations to learn more about astronomy started when they found an encyclopedia on famous scientists lying around their parents' house when they was six years old. Since then, their parents made an hour commute every weekend to drive them to an astrophysics lab where they could attend the 'Ask-A-Scientist' class. Many years later, they teamed up with scientists they met there to study the gravitational lensing of quasars.{{Cite news|url=https://video.scroll.in/1053/why-is-barack-obama-praising-15-year-old-pranav-sivakumar-sky-high|title=Why is Barack Obama praising 15-year-old Pranav Sivakumar sky-high?|last=Dixit|first=Shubhra|work=Scroll.in|access-date=2017-04-17|language=en-US}}

Adulthood

Pranav Sivakumar moved to Tallinn, Estonia to work as a music composer. Sivakumar’s works explore themes of space and texture, incorporating sounds from the natural world, influences from the Carnatic music of southern India, and the contrasting extremes of fullness and silence.{{Cite web |title=Pranav Sivakumar – Diversity Arts Network |url=https://www.diversityartsnetwork.com/portfolio-item/pranav-sivakumar/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |language=en-US}}

References

Category:American spellers

Category:Scripps National Spelling Bee participants

Category:Living people

Category:2000 births

Category:American people of Indian descent