Boy of Indian origin cracks Newton's puzzles in Germany

Jugend forscht (meaning "Youth researches") is the biggest youth science and technology competition in Europe. Thousands of participants work on a self-chosen research project.

This year, Kolkata-born Shouryya Ray caught the fancy of international media as he stood second in this annual German High School science competition in the category Mathematics and Computer Science for work on classical particle dynamics.

Shouryya Ray worked out how to calculate exactly the path of a projectile under gravity and subject to air resistance, The (London) Sunday Times reported.

When many were still memorising their math tables, Ray had already learnt calculus at a tender age of six. His engineer father nurtured his mathematical aptitude by exposing him to arithmetic problems and creating a "hunger for mathematics".

Ray lived with his family in Kolkata for 12 years until they moved to Germany four years back. And now, he has not only become fluent in German but is also ready to take Germany's high school leaving exams, two years ahead of his peers.

He shot to instant fame as the Daily Mail followed by several news and digital media reports hailed him as a genius after he worked out the problems set by Sir Isaac Newton, which have baffled the world of maths for more than 350 years.

Ray only came across the problems during a school trip to Dresden University where professors claimed they were uncrackable, the newspaper said.

The schoolboy, from Dresden, Germany, solved two fundamental particle dynamics theories which physicists have previously been able to calculate only by using powerful computers, the Mail reported. Read more  

While the first problem related to the movement of projectiles through the air, the second problem was with respect to the collision of a body with a wall. Both problems are from the field of dynamics and his solutions are expected to contribute to greater precision in areas such as ballistics, said a news report. Read More

Recently, we featured another such inspiring story of a child prodigy who met the IIT-JEE 2012 challenge as a 12-year-old. Satyam Kumar from Bihar secured an All-India rank of 8,137, becoming the youngest to qualify for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Unlike Ray, Kumar comes from a poor background, born to parents who have not cleared their high school. Read his story 

 Other interesting reads:

- NRI student tops ISC exams worldwide  

- Meet the animation prodigy, Kottapalli Hemanth