US-desi teen inventor Neha Shukla explores the metaverse in tech

mage-38969" src="https://www.globalindian.com/youth/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sravan1.jpg" alt="Sravan Kodali | Global Indian" width="381" height="467" /> Sravan Kodali[/caption]

Empower CNY was created to promote educational equity in Central New York, addressing the issue of young students falling behind due to unequal resource distribution in our education system. To address this challenge, Empower CNY connects local students with high school volunteers. Tutors not only contribute to the community's development but also gain the chance to enhance their interpersonal and leadership skills. With diverse student leadership, Empower CNY creates activities and programs tailored to the needs of all ambitious students. "At Empower CNY, our goal is to equip every student with the resources needed to achieve their full academic potential," said Sravan.

The way this program works is that high school tutors from across Central New York register through their website and undergo an initial interview process. After the interview, tutors are paired with a student in need of tutoring. We hold weekly sessions on Saturday and Sunday, offering both morning and evening times. Parents and tutors can provide feedback through our optional session review forms. "We are currently operating at eight centers and providing virtual tutoring through video conferencing services to 50+ families," states their website.

[caption id="attachment_38970" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Empower CNY[/caption]

What began as a small online initiative quickly expanded into a program that now supports nearly 200 students from local schools through both in-person and virtual tutoring. In a short span, they have created an impact. "Through partnerships with key community organizations, our volunteers connect with students in need, identify local problems in education, and help address them with activism, lobbying, and organising. Primarily, we coordinate free, weekly student-support locations in immigrant and refugee hubs and provide volunteer-run workshops at resettlement agencies." So far, their team has collaborated with 12 partners across 4 cities. From refugee foundations to STEAM educational groups, these organizations have contributed to their impactful efforts.

Creating an impact

In 2022, as school shootings surged across the USA, Sravan demonstrated his dedication to tackling pressing societal challenges beyond his academic achievements. On May 26, 2022, he led a protest, supported by a local Senator, to advocate for stricter gun laws and raise awareness about the critical need for reform in response to the escalating gun violence.

His achievements, including his work as a genetic researcher and his co-founding of the youth educational organisation Empower CNY, were particularly notable to the Selection Committee, which reviewed 3,000 applications. This earned him the prestigious ‘Cameron Impact Scholar’ award in 2023 from the Bryan Cameron Foundation, earning a full scholarship for his college education. This honour, awarded to only 15 students nationwide, highlights Sravan’s remarkable community impact, exceptional self-motivation, and outstanding academic achievements.

He is the first student He is the first student from his school in the past 60 years to gain admission into Stanford University. Apart from being a top-performing student, Sravan is a skilled soccer player who actively contributes to societal improvement. In addition, Kodali has gained valuable experience through internships at SUNY Upstate Medical University, UMass Medical School, and Syracuse University, where he worked on various research projects. He also interned with the Village of Canastota, focusing on grant writing. Beyond these roles, Kodali serves as a Youth Policy Consultant with the American Youth Policy Forum, contributes to congressional campaigns, and works as an Immigration Team Intern for the Volunteer Lawyers Project of CNY.

His journey from launching Empower CNY during the pandemic to becoming a Cameron Impact Scholar underscores his dedication to academic excellence and community service. Sravan's story highlights his perseverance, creativity, and significant impact, making him an inspiring role model for future generations.

• Follow Sravan Kodali on LinkedIn

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the harmful algae event database had record 9,503 events with impacts on human society. "It contaminates marine life and sea food," said the teenager, during her presentation for the 3M Young Scientists Challenge. She went on to develop a robot, and a film gel that can attract algae to a substrate. Her vision is to be able to clear the oceans of Harmful Algal Blooms by collecting the algae alive and converting it to biofuel.

Harmful Algal Blooms occur naturally in waterbodies, and can also be encourage dby human activities. Phosphate and nitrate runoffs from fertilizers, as well as from sewage and leachate (liquid from solid waste), along with excessive sunshine can cause harmful algal blooms to proliferate. They also ten dto prefer warmer, still and more shallow waters. Huge amounts of money are spent to clear water bodies of these HABs, the US alone spent $1.1 billion in 2020. Also, there are products to combat these blooms, but Moitri says they just aren't up to the mark, or are pollutants in themselves.

Moitri's solution

"I created a water soluble, biodegradable and positively charged gel with a citrate ion and citric acid," Moitri explains. The chitosan and citric acid contained in the gel induces coagulation in the algae. She spent a summer vacation experimenting with gels and substrates, transforming the family dining room into her makeshift lab. "These algal blooms are everywhere but are especially prominent in Florida," she explains.

Moitri's gel is designed to be biodegradable and water soluble, reducing its environmental impact. The chitosan polymer swells and carries the citric acid in water in the gel. The gel induced coagulation in the algae, causing it to clump together, become dense and sink to the bottom. However, the process also causes them to die. However the decomposition process depletes oxygen from the water, killing off marine life all around it.

A functioning prototype

Her 3M mentor, Dr Kannan Seshadri helped her with a turnaround. Moitri Santra realised that algae can be harvested to make biofuel, which comes with environmental benefits of its own. "I experimented with gels, powders and flakes and found that dried film gel floats effectively on water, and attract algae in under a minute. However, this requires a substrate material to trap the algae.  In her early version, Moitri had used a scotch brite sponge, which is a non woven material with intertwining fibres. "I experimented with around a dozen non wovens in rayon, viscose, wood pulp, PA and nylon," she explains. "I chose only the hydrophobic ones because the hydrophilic materials will soak up water and become heavy. Finally, she settled on PET non-woven material.

But after all this, how is the algae harvested? For this, she built SCARAB, an EV3 robot that can be deployed on a boat. The substrate is tied to spools and fastened under a 'guide' to hold the material in place. The material is coated with gel and when the motors are turn on, the spool spins slowly counterclockwise, ravelling and unravelling the substrate to collect algae. The material of the substrate also allows the algae to become trapped. "The algae are alive at the end of the process. I examined it under a microscope and it was clearly moving," she adds.

The 3M Challenge and Broadcom Masters

She attributes much of her success to her mentor, Dr Kannan Seshadri. "He helped me turn my simple idea into a functioning prototype," Moitri says. "I was thinking of sinking the algae and he allowed me to see that it could potentially cause more environmental harm." Moitri's next challenge is to remove the algae from the strip without damaging it, which she hopes to do with a primer. "If the right primer is used it can also increase the strip's reusability," she says. She hopes to see her innovation being deployed around the world, and the eventual use of this harvested algae in the making of biofuels.

In 2022, Moitri also placed second in the technology category at the Broadcom MASTERS, taking home a cash prize and the opportunity to attend a STEM summer camp. She decided to follow her interest in medicine and medical university at the University of Connecticut's Pre-College Summer Program for its pre-med focus. There, she spent her time attending lectures in the morning and taking practical lessons in the afternoons, exploring a different specialization everyday. "using mannequins, we did simulations of emergency situations," says Moitri, who has always been fascinated by the human body and its many complex functions.