Rocky Run Middle School - Virginia Regional Middle School Science Bowl
Coach Sheeba Balachandran is a parent coach who has coached Science Bowl for the past three years. This is the first time the team has gone to nationals. She also coaches other competitions like FLL and Odyssey of the mind. She is also a computer software architect by profession. She enjoys reading, dance, and playing checkers.
Coach Sumesh Shivdas has been involved with Science Bowl for the past three years. He is a software professional and enjoys traveling.
Aaryan Sumesh is an eighth-grade student who loves science and math. His favorite subjects are chemistry, biology, physics, and math. He also likes programming in Java. When he isn’t studying for the Science Bowl, he enjoys playing chess, biking, digital art, playing pool, and reading. Aaryan has placed in the top three in the Science Olympiad on multiple occasions, and has competed in various math competitions like AMC eight, AMC 10, and MATHCOUNTS. Aaryan also placed first in the International Science Bee. After high school, Aaryan wants to study physics and computer science. Aaryan wants to become a particle physicist at one of the Department of Energy National Labs (preferably Fermilab). His favorite scientist is Neils Bohr.
Samarth Bhargav, an eighth-grade student, has been interested in math, music, science, computer science, and chess. Samarth has competed in MATHCOUNTS States and AIME. He is a Virginia State K-5 chess co-champion. Samarth participated in junior district orchestra and several solo festivals. Samarth is an avid computer programer and USACO gold competitor. Samarth has competed in Science Olympiad winning first place medals along the way. During his free time he loves to play online video games and volunteers to teach young kids to play chess and violin.
Arnav Bandam is currently an eighth-grade student attending Rocky Run Middle School. His favorite subjects include math and science. His favorite parts about math include combinatorics and number theory. Some of his favorite topics in science are particle physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Aside from STEM, he also participates in Model United Nations (MUN), as well as debate. In his free time, Arnav enjoys reading, playing chess, and playing basketball. Arnav also likes traveling and wants to explore many different places. He also runs and has participated in several fundraisers. He also likes to volunteer. When he grows up, he wants to become a doctor and give back to his community.
Avery Li is an eighth-grade student that resides in Chantilly Virginia. Avery enjoys learning a variety of things, including, but not limited to, math, science, and history. Avery has played the violin for seven years and enjoys reading and writing. He likes to debate other people on a variety of topics, such as politics and philosophy. When he grows up Avery would like to become an architect or a computer engineer. He has participated in a few competitions such as MATHCOUNTS and AMC eight. This is his second time participating in Science Bowl, and first time since elementary school. In his free time Avery draws both on paper and digitally, and likes to play soccer. The scientist that he looks up to the most is Richard Feynman.
Raghav Karthikeyan is a student currently attending Rocky Run Middle School and he is an eighth-grade student. He likes math and science with science being his favorite subject. In his free time he likes to practice piano and talk to friends as well as playing tennis. Raghav also tutors children on chess and likes to play it as a hobby. He participated in Science Olympiad as well as MATHCOUNTS and likes any chemistry, biology or oceanography related subjects. Raghav aspires to be a biochemist or a physician.
