At 17, Prosper Chanda’s public record spans secondary-school examinations, online diplomas, university coursework and research writing. Its numbers are notable; the more interesting question is what they connect. Alongside formal study, his book and papers show a move from learning established physics toward setting out questions of his own. The proposals remain proposals; the experiment described below is narrower.
A wide foundation, assembled across institutions
At Gibeon Adventist Secondary School, Chanda earned the Zambian School Certificate, with seven subject distinctions recorded in national examination results. He also completed foundational coursework at Copperbelt University. Alongside those formal settings, his studies have included eight Alison diplomas, three Northwestern Polytechnical University course certificates and three certificates from Saylor Academy. His education and training record makes the range visible, while keeping the distinction between certificates and university coursework clear.
The Alison subjects include Advanced Diploma in High School Physics, scored at 97 percent; Engineering Thermodynamics, 93 percent; Mathematics, 89 percent; and Mechatronics, 88 percent. They sit alongside courses in English, chemistry, educational psychology, and nursing leadership and care management. The spread is striking: some courses reinforce quantitative and physical reasoning, while others reach beyond physics. At Northwestern Polytechnical University, the certificates cover computer vision, low-speed aerodynamics and electric machinery fundamentals, each listed as a 24-hour course. Saylor’s coursework includes mechanics (33 hours, 84.31 percent), algebra (35 hours, 80 percent) and advanced English (14 hours, 86.36 percent).
The courses show breadth, not research expertise on their own. More telling is where the record next goes: from taking courses to explaining and testing physics.
Writing physics for new learners
It’s Time to Know the Universe is an approximately 60-page introduction to classical mechanics and basic physics, written for secondary-school and university learners. Its intended readership gives the project a practical focus: making foundational ideas accessible to people still building their understanding. Chanda’s publications and book summary place it beside a growing list of research titles. An introductory book is different from a research paper, but both depend on the same discipline of setting out an idea so another person can follow it.
Two manuscripts reach further into theoretical territory. Chain-Space Theory proposes a discrete network model of space: nodes are connected by links, and a chain-tension term is added to the model’s dynamics. The manuscript reports numerical tests of curvature convergence and wave-operator behavior on networks, including comparisons between random networks and a cubic lattice. It also reports limitations rather than presenting the calculations as a complete resolution: for example, the curvature test retains a pointwise error at five-valent nodes, and the proposed cosmological-constant value is not predicted by the model.
The paper explicitly identifies open problems, among them how the network evolves in time, how lattice versions of the Bianchi identities would work, and whether Lorentz-violating effects persist at low energies. That list matters. Chain-Space is a proposed model under development, not an established theory of space or gravity; numerical tests of selected components are not experimental confirmation of the broader proposal.
Prosper’s Unified Position Equation (PUPE) is likewise framed as a proposed framework. It sets out coupled equations intended to combine relativistic motion, quantum guidance and electromagnetic effects in a particle’s trajectory, and discusses possible testable consequences. Those are claims and aims in a manuscript, not evidence that the framework has been proven or accepted as a replacement for established physics. The distinction between proposing a mathematical structure and validating it is essential—and especially important when a title promises unification.
A bounded experiment, not a grand claim
Chanda’s tennis-ball study offers a different kind of research: a defined question tested under a stated procedure. In the Research Square preprint, a ball of approximately 58 grams was released from a fixed height of 1.000 ± 0.005 metres onto concrete, ceramic tile, a wooden board and a rubber mat. The study used ten drops on each surface, for 40 trials. Maximum rebound height was measured directly; the coefficient of restitution and percentage mechanical energy loss were then calculated from those heights.
For this ball and setup, the paper reports mean coefficients of restitution of 0.7629 on concrete, 0.7443 on ceramic tile, 0.7046 on wood and 0.6423 on the rubber mat. The corresponding mean energy-loss figures—41.80, 44.60, 50.35 and 58.75 percent—are calculated from rebound height, not measured directly as energy. The reported analysis finds differences in rebound height among the four surfaces. These results describe the tested ball, surfaces and drop height; they should not be generalized to every ball, floor or impact condition. The experiment’s strength is precisely its boundedness: a controlled comparison, transparent measurements and derived quantities that readers can inspect.
Research alongside youth work
Chanda’s work also extends beyond individual study. He founded Curious Young Minds, an organization intended to bring education, research, innovation and environmental awareness together for young people. Its Young Researchers Program and Planet Guardians Initiative are described as in development, so they are plans rather than completed programs. Separately, he co-founded Creative Youth for Change. Keeping the organizations distinct—and describing the initiatives at their stated stage—offers a clearer picture than treating them as a single platform.
The record is not a claim that coursework automatically produces original science or that the proposals have settled difficult questions. It documents a progression: study, a short book for learners, theoretical manuscripts, a controlled experiment, and youth organizations whose initiatives remain in development. Chanda’s work is best read with curiosity and care—an unusually broad record, alongside research still subject to testing, criticism and revision.