| Alexander Amini | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 29, 1995 |
| Residence | Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yorktown High School |
| Known for | Tennis Sensor Data Analysis: An Automated System for Macro Motion Refienment |
| Notable awards | European Union Young Scientist of the Year (2011) BT Young Scientist of the Year (2011) |
Alexander Amini (born April 29, 1995) is an aspiring scientist from Dublin, Ireland. He is the first prize winner of the 23rd European Union Contest for Young Scientists and the 47th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in 2011 at the age of fifteen for his project entitled: “Tennis Sensor Data Analysis: An Automated System for Macro Motion Refienment”.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Contents |
Alexander Amini grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York and began to play tennis at the age of five, taught by his father.[4] While living in New York, Amini attended Yorktown High School, where he took his first computer programming classes, learning to program in Java, and Microsoft Visual Basic. In his spare time, Alexander also taught himself many other languages including Python, C++, BASH, AWK, and sed.
After completing the 9th grade Alexander and his family moved to Dublin, Ireland. On August 28, 2010, he enrolled at Castleknock College and began Fourth Year.[7]
Alexander entered the 47th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition with his project entitled "Tennis Sensor Data Analysis." On January 14th, 2011 Alexander was announced the BT Young Scientist and Technologist of the Year 2011 by Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D and Graham Sutherland, CEO, BT Ireland . He was presented with a cheque for €5,000, a Waterford Crystal trophy and the opportunity to represent Ireland at the 23rd European Union Contest for Young Scientists taking place in Helsinki, Finland in September 2011.[4][5][8]
A quote from one of the interviewers of Alexander Amini: [9]
"We interviewed Alexander Amini from Castleknock College on Wednesday, and I was struck by his clear intelligence, but also the comfort with which he handled the issues he was treating. The ingenuity of his project is undoubted, but his ability to manipulate such advanced technologies is outstanding. He was a deserved winner and will indubitably go on to bigger things."—Interviewer[9]
After winning the top prize at his national competition, Alexander was offered the opportunity to represent Ireland in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists. Alexander competed against 87 projects and a total of 38 different countries from all around the world during the competition hosted in Helsinki, Finland during September 2011. Again, Alexander won the top prize with his project entitled "Tennis Sensor Data Analysis: An Automated System for Macro Motion Refinement".[1][2]
Colm O’Neill, CEO, BT addressing Alexander on the day of his win said: [10]
“Alexander’s win in Europe today is a great endorsement of the talented students we see each year at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. It is a proud moment to see students like Alexander take top honours for Ireland at the European level, and serves as a reminder that we must do everything we can to arm them with the knowledge, skills and experience they will need to become Ireland’s next generation of leaders.”—Colm O'Neill, BT CEO [10]
Alexander's project, entitled: Tennis Sensor Data Analysis, was focused on sensors capable of capturing audio, video, and inertial data (such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers). In his study, he applied such inertial sensors onto the bodies of tennis athletes, collected and analyzed gigabytes of tennis sensor data.[4][5] He discovered a technique for automatically distinguishing between 15 different tennis stroke types using only inertial data, with accuracy averaging over 98%. Alexander tested his algorithms after collecting data at the elite Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy, and created a real-time computer software system that employs the algorithms he discovered. His algorithms analyse sports performance data as it is generated and provide unbiased and precise motion refinement feedback to the athlete or coach. Amini's findings are relevant to a wide variety of motion assessment scenarios in sports, physical therapy, and emergency response. [5]
Because of his achievements at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition Alexander was invited to meet the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin on February 15, 2011. [11]
|
||||||||||||||||