Global Indianstory Global IndianWomenPalakh Khanna: This Delhi teen’s Break.The.Ice creates a safe space for youth to discuss taboo topics

Palakh Khanna: This Delhi teen’s Break.The.Ice creates a safe space for youth to discuss taboo topics

Written by: Ranjani Rajendra

(January 3, 2021) How many of us are comfortable discussing mental health and menstruation? Essentials like sanitary napkins are still wrapped in newspapers and seeking therapy is still frowned upon. How then, is one to step up and seek help when one needs it? These questions bothered 18-year-old Palakh Khanna, who went on to found Break.The.Ice to create a safe platform for youth to open up on taboo topics.

More recently, the organisation became a part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN Youth). Palakh herself has been featured in the entrepreneurs of India list, the emerging icons, and entrepreneurs today lists. The graduate of Mother’s International School (Delhi), Palakh, was also nominated for a Social Volunteer Award.

The Delhi-based teen believes that awareness at a community level is of utmost importance for a nation to develop and progress. And that cannot be achieved till the stigma surrounding various issues is overcome. “The initiative is aimed at enlightening entire communities to enable them to take calculated and informed actions and decisions through open communication,” says Palakh in an exclusive with Global Indian.

Launched three months ago, Break.The.Ice has over 40 members from across the globe working to raise awareness about various issues, and has so far reached over 16,000 people globally.

Global Indian Youth Palakh Khanna

How talking helps

Born and brought up in Delhi to a businessman (family-owned) father and a corporate employee mother, Palakh was encouraged to speak her mind, and have an open channel of communication at home. “There is no topic that we can’t freely discuss in the family,” says Palakh, who wears many hats – environmentalist, poet and international MUN ambassador. In fact, the teenager has been environmentally-conscious since she was seven and would meticulously work towards eliminating litter.

“As I grew older, I realised that the environment was not the only issue that needed to be addressed. A chance conversation with our house help made me realise that topics like menstruation were a huge no-no for several people in India. The help was uncomfortable discussing something as basic and common as menstruation and her awareness was also sadly dismal,” she adds. Khanna realised that topics such as these were still taboo.

As she set about doing research, speaking to people and researching content on the topic, Khanna figured that the root cause of most issues was a lack of communication. “I’d always wanted to do something to change the world. Encouraging open dialogue and busting the stigma surrounding so-called taboo topics seemed like a great place to start,” reveals Khanna, who then discussed her idea with her parents. “I was waiting for my college admissions and wasn’t sure if I should be starting up at that point. My mother encouraged me to take the plunge and my father gave me a pep talk about the risks involved, and how to face any challenges that might come my way on this journey,” says the budding entrepreneur.

Let’s talk openly

Break.The.Ice launched three months ago as an online platform to provide the youth with a safe space to discuss various topics. “Our members are between 13 and 25 (ages), and we encourage them to join by filling out a form that determines their passions. There is also a stringent interview process in place to select members. Once on board, we connect every two weeks to discuss the way forward, updates and the topic to focus on each month. Currently, we have members from over five countries,” says the teenager CEO of Break.The.Ice.

Members are divided into teams that handle various verticals – content creation, writing, research, and ambassadors. The teams work on generating content based on topics and release videos and blog posts on Break.The.Ice’s social media channels. They now plan to rope in experts and delve into topics like bullying, women’s empowerment, racism, casteism etc.

Completely bootstrapped at the moment, Palakh is working on expanding the team’s reach and says that the fact that it recently became a member of the UN SDSN Youth is a big win. “We will soon begin hosting events in collaboration with UN SDSN,” says Palakh, who in five years wants to collaborate with UN bodies to create a safe global space to talk.

The girl with an entrepreneurial spirit

The teen is also a published poet with a poem appearing in an anthology called Head Full of Dreams. “Poetry is my way of expressing myself,” she says.

Free expression also finds its way into her life through dancing as Palakh is a classically trained dancer. As Global Lead Ambassador for climate change at an international organisation, she works on sustainability. An avid foodie, she finds ultimate solace in diverse cuisines too!

Looking to the future, Palakh hopes to host UN-related events through her startup, and might even go down the entrepreneurial route.

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Published on 03, Jan 2022

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A ‘doodh’ entrepreneur: How Shraddha Dhawan grew her farm revenue 24 times

(March 20, 2022) Trailblazing into the male domain, milking buffaloes, and riding a bike to deliver milk, Shraddha Dhawan, a native of Nighoj village, near Pune, has established herself as a unique entrepreneur. The 23-year-old village entrepreneur had entered the family dairy business seven years ago as a teenager studying in class 11 when she saw her polio-afflicted father struggle to deliver milk. From a couple of buffaloes, the village entrepreneur’s relentless efforts burgeoned the small family business into a farm with over 80 buffaloes and a turnover that grew 24 times. All set for future The soon-to-be-married entrepreneur is now venturing into the bio-fertiliser business, CS Agro Organics, with plans to reach international markets. Juggling responsibilities with elan is her forte. When children of her age were busy with studies and play, she was working to make the family business grow. “I am confident that my new venture will reach the pinnacle,” she tells Global Indian. Inspiring others, garnering support When she initially started delivering milk door-to-door, Shraddha felt a bit awkward. But she soon began enjoying her work. Seeing her efforts, her parents, Satyavan and Janaki, and younger brother supported her and began helping her. Now, with the

tps://www.globalindian.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Indian.

Inspiring others, garnering support

When she initially started delivering milk door-to-door, Shraddha felt a bit awkward. But she soon began enjoying her work. Seeing her efforts, her parents, Satyavan and Janaki, and younger brother supported her and began helping her. Now, with the business having grown by leaps and bounds, Shraddha has employed a team of people. “With the increasing number of buffaloes, it was difficult to manage on our own and we started employing people to take care of day-to-day activities,” says the village entrepreneur, whose turnover has gone from Rs 25,000 to Rs 6 lakh per month in a span of seven years.

[caption id="attachment_12930" align="aligncenter" width="442"] Village entrepreneur Shraddha Dhawan[/caption]

Inspired by Shraddha, other girls in her village started driving a bike, but her entrepreneurial choice remains unique. “I was blessed. Instead of people looking down upon me for doing something that was outside a ladies’ purview, fellow villagers appreciated me for my work, calling me my father’s son. I am grateful to my father for believing in me and allowing me to do things which were not stereotypical and my mother for her constant support,” says the eldest of three siblings. While her brother, who is now in his teens, is ready to step into her shoes, her sister had not been very inclined towards dairy farming since the beginning.

The physics student is pursuing her M.Sc from a college which is 20 km away from her village. She loves trekking and finds solace in going to nearby places to recoup. The village entrepreneur is proud of her origins and says that her village has some fine trekking routes nearby. Her fiancé, Chaitanya, who is pursuing a Ph.D and researching the world of bacteria, is all set to join her new venture as a business partner. While Chaitanya will bring his in-depth knowledge to the table, Shraddha will put her entrepreneurial skills to the best use with their new venture.

Epitomising the Indian woman

With plans to create an impact with her bio-fertiliser venture, Shraddha is happy to start something afresh. “As far as my dairy business goes, I did not think about myself, the aim was to put my family of five in a comfortable position financially. I always looked at it as ours, not mine alone. The new venture is something that I would call my own. I am hoping to get good investors who would help me realise my dream of making rural farmers prosper in their lives,” says the village entrepreneur.

After her wedding, she would be relocating to Jategaon where her fiancé lives. With the experience of rising from almost nothing, she is all set to make Jategaon as popular as Nighoj through her work.

Follow Shraddha Dhawan on Instagram

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Maanasa Mendu empowers the world: A teen’s mission for global electricity access

(December 20, 2023) She was all of 14 when Ohio-born Maanasa Mendu made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, making her the youngest person ever to achieve the feat. But behind this recognition was an invention that could be a potential answer to the global energy crisis. The same innovation won her the grand prize in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge and $25,000. It all began when she first visited her grandparents in rural India for her summer break, and witnessed persistent blackouts. Seeing children huddled over a single kerosene lamp made her sit up and take notice of the grave issue at hand, and decided to make a difference. That's when she designed Harvest – an energy harvesting device that combines piezoelectric effect that harvests energy from sun, wind and precipitation. [caption id="attachment_34746" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Maanasa Mendu[/caption] The trip to India played an pivotal role in helping her search for answers. Upon her research, she spent hours at length digging deep into information and found that 88 percent of the energy supply comes from non-renewable sources, which are not only harmful to the environment but also depleting. A renewable source was the answer. However, its

ation and found that 88 percent of the energy supply comes from non-renewable sources, which are not only harmful to the environment but also depleting. A renewable source was the answer. However, its high cost played a spoiler. That's when Maanasa decided to design an "inexpensive and potentially globally application energy solution."

"Imagine a place where life ends after dark, where there are no electric lights for school work or refrigeration for perishables. This is not part of some dystopian society – it’s a part of our world today. Over 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity," Maanasa said in TedX talk.

When she was 11 years old, she learned about something called the piezoelectric effect, which is when certain materials create electricity when pressure is applied. She discovered this while reading about a railway station in Japan with floors that produce electricity from people walking on them. This got her excited about finding a renewable energy solution.

After a year of researching and reading, she got the idea for a device shaped like a leaf that could harness energy from the wind and rain. The inspiration came to her while watching tree branches sway during a storm. These branches looked like piezoelectric materials to her—tiny devices that generate power through vibration. This motivated her to start working on her first design.

Initially, she wanted to focus only on using the wind for power, but she ended up creating a prototype that can harness energy from both the sun and the wind, as well as the vibrations from raindrops. Her device has three solar "leaves" that act like solar panels but also move with the wind and rain. She built the prototype using recycled materials for only $5. Her design won her the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

"The issue with the energy crisis lies not in the fact that we lack ideas or solutions to solve it, but rather in the fact that we are unable to get these solutions to the people who need it the most,” said Maanasa.

When she started designing the device, she was only thinking about using the wind for energy, especially in cities where traditional wind turbines don't work well. However, as she worked on it, she realized that there are other sources of untapped energy around us, like the sun and rain. She thought, "If my device only depends on one specific thing, the amount of power it produces might change throughout the day. But if it depends on multiple things, like how sunny it is, how fast the wind is blowing, and whether it's raining, all these factors together could make a more steady source of power with more energy."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEDvTJT5o7Q

Maanasa reveals that Harvest can power a 15watt LED bulb after three hours of charging. It took her three years to come up with Harvest, that has the potential to be the answer to the global energy crisis, and she says that it was curiosity that led her to the solution. Currently studying Neuroscience and Global Health and Health Policy at Harvard College, Maanasa is an aspiring physician and public health researcher. Apart from developing a renewable energy device to address energy poverty, she is also identifying video-based biomarkers for delirium, exploring heart-brain neural circuits in zebrafish, and studying cancer incidence among people with HIV in Botswana.

Follow Maanasa Mendu on X

Syamantak Payra: The young scientist using technology to solve healthcare challenges

(July 29, 2022) Sitting on the sofa at home and helping his grandmother take dozens of medications every evening to treat her chronic asthma is one of the earliest memories that shaped Syamantak Payra's outlook on life and his desire to help. Desperate to help, he invented a makeshift breathing machine "out of some straws and balloons" at age four. "It was rudimentary and practically ineffectual, but it came from the same motivation that still drives me: I saw a problem, and I wanted to help," says the 2022 Hertz Foundation Fellow. From the same desire stemmed the idea of developing a knee brace that helped the inventor and researcher win the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award in 2016. "I want to help people. Whether that's by creating new biomedical technologies that will improve patients' prognoses, or through literacy outreach that will help create new opportunities for young students, I wish to use my capabilities in the ways that I will best be able to help empower others," he tells Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_20036" align="aligncenter" width="541"] Syamantak Payra[/caption] Curiosity, science and innovations Growing up in Houston, a stone's throw away from Johnson Space Centre - headquarter for many NASA

gncenter" width="541"] Syamantak Payra[/caption]

Curiosity, science and innovations

Growing up in Houston, a stone's throw away from Johnson Space Centre - headquarter for many NASA operations, Syamantak would spend endless afternoons enquiring about the workings of the world from his Bengali grandfather. Curious to know "why the colours in rainbows appeared in that order or how car engines and sewing machines worked or why leaves on trees didn’t all blow the same way", his inquisitiveness was embraced by his parents, grandparents, and later, teachers. As early as Grade one, he began completing his scientific projects which helped him tiptoe into the world of science "as a method of inquiry.” Over the years, it translated into a love for the subject and many scientific disciplines including "materials science and the physics of photovoltaic cells and biomedical engineering and robotics."

The following years of experimentation, discoveries, and innovations culminated in his first breakthrough in 2016 when the inventor won big at the Intel Science Fair for developing a knee brace that can help individuals partially disabled by polio to walk swiftly. For someone who always "wanted to help", he was inspired to take on the project after learning about his teacher's polio-led partial paralysis. "I was interested in robotics, and wanted to try to use robotics to help restore some of his capabilities: effectively creating a robotic leg brace that would allow him to walk with less effort and pain," says the inventor who revised and built his prototypes for over two years.

[caption id="attachment_20037" align="aligncenter" width="399"] Syamantak Payra showcasing one of his inventions[/caption]

The power of innovation to transform lives

With no prior experience in programming or biomechanics, the project was nothing short of a "self-guided crash course" for him. "I pored over hundreds of papers analysing prosthetics and anatomy, developed my data equipment and analysis methods, and had my teacher try on the prototypes to evaluate their functionality. My revised version of the robotic leg brace was able to restore nearly 99 percent of his knee mobility, and allowed him to walk with 33 percent less effort," adds the inventor.

As someone passionate about research, Syamantak is "excited about the potential for innovation and the power it holds to create transformative new technologies" to create positive impacts in the world. Keeping up with his quest to find solutions that create a ripple effect, he made some interesting innovations during his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology - one of which is digital fibers for electronic garments that can assist in diagnosing illnesses. Explaining his work in the MIT Fibres Group, he says that it has enabled them to "create polymer threads with microchips embedded within the fibers. These fibers can then be woven into fabrics that contain those microchips directly within the textile." A technology that took over four years to develop, he says, helps create fibers that are capable of sensing, computing, and communicating, such that worn garments will be better able to assist in monitoring, diagnosing, and treating health conditions.

The impactful work

The years at MIT turned out to be fruitful as he ended up making prototypes like temperature detecting shirts that could detect heatstroke and potential dehydration to making spacesuits that help improve astronauts' situational awareness and their safety on spacewalks. "The spacesuits worn for spacewalks must be pressurised against the vacuum of space; one side-effect is that if something touches or impacts the spacesuit, it is difficult for the astronaut to feel it. In addition, spacesuits are constantly bombarded by space dust, particles that can travel at thousands of kilometers per second and significantly damage textiles. By incorporating sensors and advanced electronics into the spacesuit construction, we can imitate different sensations and reproduce them on the skin," he beams with pride.

[caption id="attachment_20038" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Syamantak in a Nanotechnology class at MIT.[/caption]

Having walked the corridors of MIT for years and creating some stellar innovations, it holds a special place for Syamantak - as it not only honed his skills as an engineer and a scientist but also as a community leader. "Crucially, it's shown me how the most important part of engineering isn't the blueprints, it's the people: who will use something, how, and why." The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans recipient is now gearing up for a PhD in engineering at Stanford and aims to create "new biomedical technologies that can interface more closely with the body and help us address exactly those gaps in healthcare: difficult early diagnoses, complex monitoring in-vivo, and careful post-treatment care."

A community leader

But it isn't just his innovations through which Syamantak is creating ripples in society, his zeal for literacy and STEM has helped him extend help to the underserved children in Houston. A spelling bee champ through his middle school, he was keen to share his love for the language and started literacy workshops sharing spelling and vocabulary lessons to young students for which he received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for outstanding commitment to education twice. Moreover, he launched a STEM outreach program (CORES) at his high school called CORES which has now expanded to more under-resourced schools. "At MIT, I was also part of a group called DynaMIT; every year, we host a summer program aimed at helping underprivileged students in the Boston area gain exposure to STEM fields through experiments and activities that they wouldn’t have experienced within their schools."

This desire to make an impact helps Syamantak push the envelope with each of his innovations. Years of working in the field have come with their share of learning, and the one that has made the 21-year-old humble is that "part of the joy in scientific research is the discovery that comes from unexpected connections." The Bengali lad loves poetry, so much so that he spent hours learning Rabindranath Tagore's songs and poems while growing up, and is now a published poet. A strong believer in the power of music, Syamantak plays violin and piano, produces classical and modern music, and is an avid photographer. "I view the world through a camera lens: filming wide landscapes from aerial drones gives me a sense of perspective, and photographing minuscule wildflowers with a macro lens lets me connect intimately with the smallest details of nature," he says.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg0nk0g5EMk&t=111s

Having received many fellowships and awards including Hertz Foundation Fellowship, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, the Stanford Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, and the Astronaut Foundation Scholarship, Syamantak feels grateful for them as they have been instrumental in supporting his academic pursuits by funding his studies, he says. However, for him, the ultimate validation would be to create a direct impact on the lives of people with his work. "If I can improve someone's quality of life, or aid a patient in their treatment or recovery, that is the most direct validation that I have been able to make a difference through my work," he signs off.

Follow Syamantak Payra on Linkedin

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Mangka Mayanglambam puts Manipuri folk music on world map

(May 7, 2023) When Mangka Mayanglambam, the world-famous Manipuri folk singer, formally started learning music as a nine-year-old, her guru was her grandmother, Oja Langathel Thoinu. Despite the family ties, the budding singer was given no extra privileges as a student, learning in a strict, guru-shishya atmosphere, just like her fellow pupils. Now the face of Manipuri folk music, Mangka has represented India on multiple platforms globally. With the international ongoing collaborative project ZIRO Focus (2020-2023), supported by British Council and Art Council of Wales, the folk singer has collaborated with Eadyth, an artist from Wales, England. They have created an NFT song RaRaReHei. [caption id="attachment_24694" align="aligncenter" width="651"] Mangka Mayanglambam[/caption] International collaboration The collaboration is part of ‘India-Wales, Connections through Culture’, a celebration of the long-standing relationship between the two countries on the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day. Apart from creating the NFT, Mangka travelled to Britain as part of the bilateral cultural exchange to perform in some of the cities there. “The first time I represented India internationally was back in 2014 — I was selected to be at one of the world's biggest radio festivals in Colombo. That is an experience I will forever cherish,” she

nal collaboration

The collaboration is part of ‘India-Wales, Connections through Culture’, a celebration of the long-standing relationship between the two countries on the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day. Apart from creating the NFT, Mangka travelled to Britain as part of the bilateral cultural exchange to perform in some of the cities there.

“The first time I represented India internationally was back in 2014 — I was selected to be at one of the world's biggest radio festivals in Colombo. That is an experience I will forever cherish,” she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx0xGwRMGcw

Since then, the folk artist has travelled across the world, performing at premiere music festivals. She was awarded the national young artist scholarship award by the ministry of culture in 2017, and the national child talent scholarship award by CCRT, New Delhi in 2009. The Election commission of India selected the Global Indian as the state icon of Manipur in 2017.

Music in her blood

Born into a family of musicians, Mangka’s environment was full of music from the time she was born. Her father, Mangangsana, who is her biggest inspiration, is a renowned folk musician, a national award winner and a versatile artiste. Mangka was deeply influenced by music from the time she was a little girl, thanks to her grandma, who was her first teacher, her father, who trained her later and the artistes who would come home to learn and practice.

“I was not pushed into taking up music by my family, I chose it,” she said. “I urged my father to help me take my passion further by constantly trying to prove that I had potential,” she says, adding, “For this I participated in all the school and neighbourhood functions, without letting go of any chance to perform and impress my father.” Looking back, she is grateful to her father and grandma, for never having favoured or discriminated between her and their other students.

Manga completed her masters in sociology in 2020 and has been associated as a researcher with ‘Laihui Ensemble’, the centre for research on traditional and indigenous performing arts in Imphal. Her father has been the composer, and artistic director of the national and international programmes organised by the centre.

Setting new grounds

Since she was a kid, the folk artist has been singing the traditional songs that the family’s ancestors once sang. “I have grown up singing ‘Moirang Sai’ and ‘Pena Ishei’, which are ballads central to Manipuri folklore,” she revealed. The young artist also sings contemporary songs based on Manipur’s folk tunes that are composed and written by her father and other renowned lyricists.

The artist is a befitting example of Indian youth who are choosing folk music to express themselves and keeping their culture alive. The youth icon has always worked towards putting Manipuri folk music at the international map. “Folk music is a bridge between the past and the present and that’s why it’s so significant,” she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npdJ7adAk6Q

Mangka is the only female Pena (a Manipuri traditional fiddle instrument) player. She started learning how to play it from Padmashree Khangembam Mangi, when she was 13. “I also learned Hindustani Sangeet from Visharad Guru M. Jiten.” Another guru of hers, Langathel Thoinu helped her hone skills in Basok and Moirang Sai (a rare traditional female performing art), beginning her training before she hit her teens.

She learned Khongjom Parvah, a 130-year-old Manipuri ballad singing tradition from guru Khumantham Sundari. The ace performer has also learned Manipuri dance for years, earning the visharad (graduation degree) and has been a student of mime. All this extensive training makes her a riveting performer.

Preventing Manipuri folk art from getting extinct

Today the icon for the entire state of Manipur is an inspiration for children of the state who turn up to her for learning music. She has more than 300 students. Teaching is her way to preserve the folk art and counter the threat of it getting extinct by making the next generation equipped to take it further. “Being around children is something that I love a lot,” she says. It’s not just her music but the way she carries herself is something that adds to her huge fan base of youngsters who fondly call her the Princess of Manipuri Folk Music.

The young artist loves wearing traditional attire with the strong notion that in this time of modernisation, sticking to the roots is something that has added to her personality’s ‘unique brand quotient’. The singer has conducted many seminars, conferences and workshops. When she is abroad, she makes it a point to hold folk art sessions for children of Manipuri diaspora there.

She has also written a book of songs, ‘Langathel Thoinu’s Moirang Sai, Thoibi Loi Kaba.’ “It’s a gift for my guru ‘Langathel Thoinu’ and I would like to have an English translation for it,” she said. “I enjoy what I do and that is why it’s not hard for me to do so many things at the same time” she adds.

International collaborations and performances of Mangka Mayanglambam:

‘Asadoya Yunta – Singel’ – an international collaboration with Japanese artist Kazuki Oshiro with performances across Japan and India
‘Ingelehua – Two Cultures Entwined’ – a Manipuri and Hawaiin dance and music collaboration
Performance at Awa Kongchat a cultural exchange programme in Myanmar
‘Nura Pakhang’ - an international collaboration with Cla, the iconic Portuguese band
Performance at the Esplanade Festival, Singapore
'Shakuhachi meets Pena’ – a collaboration of Manipuri and Japanese traditional music

Follow Mangka Mayanglambam on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

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Shripriya Kalbhavi: Indian-American teen wins big at 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her invention

(October 28, 2023) The ninth grader at Lynbrook High School in San Jose was in for a surprise when she won second place at the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Shripriya Kalbhavi has been working on her invention - EasyBZ for a while now, but had no idea that it would win her a spot at America's biggest middle school science competition. The Indian-American teen will receive a cash prize of $2000 for developing a cost-effective microneedle patch that allows for self-automated drug delivery without pills or needles. "I am really passionate about making sure that everyone is comfortable with the medical treatment that they are receiving, and I really want people to have long-term solutions to their chronic conditions. With the EasyBZ microneedle patch, I have always hoped that people can receive painless treatment that accommodates their medical needs, whether it be children who have diabetes or adults who suffer from forms of dementia like Alzheimer's," she wrote in a blog. For someone who has always been keen to contribute to society, she found her answer in science and research. Growing up, Shripriya was scared of needles and hated getting injections. It not only made her uncomfortable but also

content/uploads/2023/10/shripriya-card.jpg" alt="Shripriya Kalbhavi | Global Indian" width="435" height="265" />

Growing up, Shripriya was scared of needles and hated getting injections. It not only made her uncomfortable but also induced a sense of fear in her. She realised that many people, especially children, like her who feared needles had no solution other than being told they had to face their fears. "For me, it was not very fun to have a huge needle being stuck into my arm. It was uncomfortable and frightening, and I don’t think that anyone should have to deal with something that makes them feel like their pain, fear, or struggles are less than worthy of care." Moreover, seeing This didn't sit right with her and she decided to come up with EasyBZ microneedle patch, "which actively delivers medication to patients painlessly and can deliver doses over a long period of time."

"Microneedles reduce the pain factor, while the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, along with an oscillating hydrogel, helps manage doses and actively deliver medication," added Shripriya who was keen to help people who require long-term injections. "Such as kids with diabetes, by making their insulin therapy more convenient or something that could also benefit those who cannot take medications on their own, such as dementia or Alzheimer's patients. Hypodermic needles can be a real pain. I really wanted to redesign this problem and help many people in the process. In addition, I also wanted to take into consideration the pain and fear aspect of it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HecA7b-qbYM

It was in November 2022 that Shripriya started playing around with the idea of a microneedle patch that autonomously delivers medication using a self-oscillating hydrogel back. She spent hours researching drug delivery methods, hydrogels, and microneedle technologies. "Understanding how things already work and their limitations sparked new ideas for my project. Research guided me in designing the most effective prototypes." However, she was still unsure of the materials that she could use to make the prototype. That's when her mentor Dr. PJ Flanigan stepped in and helped turn her idea into a possible solution. "The summer mentorship is what really has allowed me to take my project to the next level. With the advice and help of my mentor, Dr. PJ Flanigan, as well as all of the 3M materials that have helped me put together my prototypes, I have been able to level up my project in terms of design, efficiency, results, chemistry, and more. With the help of a 3M scientist, I feel like my project has an even greater potential to help so many people," she added.

Follow Shripriya Kalbhavi on LinkedIn

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