Meadows student’s award-winning app seeks to prevent heatstroke deaths

He learned of a need and decided to make it the focus of his entry into a national science competition. Now, Zane Pasha, 13, has been named the Nevada State Merit Winner in the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

Pasha, a student at The Meadows School, 8601 Scholar Lane, is in the competitive science elective program there. He will began eighth grade this fall.

"I guess I wowed the judges," he said.

Students competing in the challenge were asked to develop a solution to an everyday problem. Each entry included a video and presentation showcasing their work. Students were judged on a combination of their scientific knowledge as well as their presentation skills. Science and communications leaders and current and former educators and administrators judge the challenge.

His submission idea was HeatSafe, a product aimed at decreasing the number of heatstroke deaths when a child is left accidentally in a hot vehicle. The idea began to take seed last spring while on a family trip, driving to California. They stopped for gas, and Pasha and his sister, Alena, now 10, waited in the car.

"It was like 85 degrees outside, and all of a sudden, it started getting real hot in the car," he said. "And I thought, 'This can get really dangerous. … What if I couldn't get out?' "

His mother, pediatrician Shazia Pasha, told him what can happen when a child is accidentally left in a vehicle in summer, strapped in a car seat.

"These things are so preventable, and he took that concept and applied it," she said and added that she was proud of him.

HeatSafe monitors the temperature in a vehicle and alerts parents by sending a text when the temperature reaches 90 degrees. Heatstroke occurs at 104 degrees, the alert gives parents ample time to rescue a child. The device also alerts the parent's phone with an audible alarm should they venture too far away from the vehicle while a child is inside.

"Children left in hot vehicles is an issue in the United States, and we are so proud of Zane for working toward being a part of the solution," said Jeremy Gregersen, head of school at The Meadows School. "We encourage our students to be solution-based in their thinking."

Between 1998 and 2014, there were 636 deaths of children between the ages of 5 and 14 from heatstroke due to being left in a vehicle unattended, according to kidsandcars.org. Roughly half were 2 or younger. On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year.

There were seven seventh-graders and one eighth-grader who entered the challenge. Pasha's prize package included an Amazon Kindle.

"These competitions really allow students to try and make everyday situations around them better … We had ideas ranging from remote forest fire sensors to a pill to allow different flora to assist the gut in gaining more nutrients from the food we eat," said Francesca Gerbino, science teacher at The Meadows School.

"I find that if you can get students to argue about how to solve something, there is a pretty good bet that they are going to not only have a good time but have plenty of ideas to sift through."

Pasha is rallying the help of his family to see that his idea makes it to being a viable invention. They intend to approach car companies and car seat manufacturers to try to get it to market.

"It'd be cool to carry it through and get it (out there). Even if it's just one life saved, it's worth a lifetime to a parent," Pasha said.

Next up for the budding young scientist: tackling hypothermia.

For more information, visit youngscientistchallenge.com or themeadowsschool.org.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.