YORK COUNTY – A Grafton High School graduate recently won the National Society of High School Scholars’ $2,000 Innovation in Technology Scholarship for her AI-based earthquake disaster preparedness project. Ann Elizabeth Cherian will attend Virginia Tech to study computer engineering and hopes to eventually earn a master’s degree in biomedical engineering. The project includes a wall-mounted device designed to measure vibration frequencies associated with earthquakes. Cherian served as team lead, coordinating the group’s work and presenting the project to judges from Bloomberg Engineering. “The project really showed me how software and data and human-centered design can work together to turn complex scientific information into practical guidance for communities,” Cherian said.