At the Space Camp organized by the Space Academy of Singapore in June 2013, 12-year-old Armaan Dhalla won the Best Junior Cadet Award. The instructors who were former NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) rocket scientists/engineers familiarized the aspirants with key concepts in the areas of aerodynamics, electrolysis, flight dynamics, living in space and extraterrestrial missions. Twenty participants in the junior section (age eight to 12 years) plus 10 in the youth section (14 to 21 years) with an interest in space and aeronautics had attended the two-day Camp at the Science Centre. Whilst the students learnt a range of interesting activities like building and testing flying objects, and accessing live data from NASA weather satellites, the instructors observed the performance and leadership qualities of all cadets and decided on the best cadet, mention Armaan’s parents Aashish and Adil who hope that their son "whose passion has always been aeronautics…achieves his dream of becoming a rocket scientist, if not an astronaut.”
Armaan Dhalla (center) with instructors at the Space Camp
Earlier in the year Armaan was among the four students from Overseas Family School (OFS) who won the imagination award at the First Lego League Robotics Competition organized at the Science Centre. According to the proud parents, "What was most heartening about this achievement was the fact that they participated entirely on their own, without any adult guidance, and competed against scores of well-funded teams which were sponsored and guided by their schools.” The students felt their efforts were justified when the principal of the OFS Middle School recognized their passion, dedication and innovation at an all-student assembly.
A student of Grade 8, Armaan’s other interests include reading, cooking, swimming, tennis and Kendo (a Japanese martial art). Passionate about photography, he is one of the official student photographers in his school. Now a teenager, he wears his sudreh-kusti and says his prayers daily "and even more importantly believes in living the tenets of our religion,” report his parents. He believes the youth have "a strong role to play in keeping our religion vibrant and inclusive.” His younger sister Arnaz studies in Grade 5 at OFS. Father Adil who holds a doctorate in chemistry is the director of GE’s Singapore Water Technology Centre while mother Aashish has a master’s degree in textile chemistry.