Arlington Heights Middle Schooler Honored For Invention

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL —Middle schooler Lila Nanisetty, an Arlington Heights-native who attends Quest Academy in Palatine, was among 400 award-winning inventors from around the country honored recently at the Sixth Annual Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals, powered by The Henry Ford. A virtual awards ceremony was held on June 24.

Nanisetty received the Best Engineering award for her invention the Thermo-Bat, which she developed in order to help improve her ability to hit a softball.

The invention is a bat fitted with thermochromic material, which changes color when it comes in contact with a ball. This allows Nanisetty to see where on the bat she's hitting the ball.

"I've been playing softball for five years. I'm a good pitcher and I'm a good fielder, but when it comes to batting, I tend to struggle," Nanisetty said in a YouTube video introducing her invention.

"I think (I'm grounding out to first base or hitting foul balls) because I'm hitting the ball on the wrong spot on my bat. But there is really nothing out there to help me tell where on the bat I hit the ball."

In her explanation video, Nanisetty said she considered different materials that would change color when striking a ball. Her first choice was a newer material called piezochromic material, but she said it only was available through a special order from France.

In the end, she selected a thermochromic fabric, which she stuck to her bat and tested by hitting softballs at the batting cages. Though Nanisetty said the color of the material did not change for long, it did so long enough for her to discover where she had hit the ball.

She believes the invention would be helpful to ballplayers of all ages.

"The invention is directed toward anybody who wants to improve their batting: kids, teens or adults," Nanisetty said. "I believe this could impact individuals who want to improve their batting, coaches who want to use this to help train their teams or even (players in) competitive leagues who really want to perfect where they hit the ball under certain circumstances."

According to a press release, the Invention Convention competition began with over 120,000 student inventors from across the country. Prior to advancing to the U.S. national event, students competed at local and regional levels.

Students were required to submit a video presentation of their invention, a prototype, an inventor's logbook showing their invention process and a display board highlighting key points of the invention process.

"Over the past year, these curious inventors have shown us that anything is possible if you just dream big," said Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford, which is described as a a destination that inspires individuals to unlock their potential and help shape a better future.

Mooradian continued: "(The inventors') approach to solving the problems they face, both big and small, is both inspiring and reassuring that the future is in great hands."