Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveVaishnavi Jaiswal addresses glaring gender gap in STEM globally, with her award-winning initiative

Vaishnavi Jaiswal addresses glaring gender gap in STEM globally, with her award-winning initiative

Written by: Amrita Priya

(September 20, 2022) “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” Whenever Vaishnavi Jaiswal was asked the question growing up, she would say, “An astronaut like Kalpana Chawla.” By the time she reached high school, her answer had changed. She discovered a passion for coding. She soon realised, however, that whether it was astronomy or coding, not many girls aspire to enter STEM fields. The glaring gender gap in STEM aspirants led the 16-year-old to found Salubrious, an initiative to promote gender equality. “Content and resources in the field are very gender biased,” she tells Global Indian. In 2022, she won the Diana Award for having impacted more than 55,000 students from 45 countries through workshops and events, supported by over 100 volunteers.

Indian Teen |Vaishnavi Jaiswal | Global Indian

Vaishnavi Jaiswal, founder of The Salubrious Organisation

“Even though tech is so accessible, there is a lack of women who opt for the field, possibly because STEM subjects seem intimidating,” Vaishnavi says. This resonated with her – Vaishnavi had also lacked role models who could be approached for guidance. She too had been skeptical about making STEM her future field of study.

“It was like a very personal problem for me. I was determined to do something about it, even though I was very young and didn’t know how to go about starting or running a non-profit.”

Impactful associations

Vaishnavi soon found that there are plenty of women in tech making an impact, whose efforts are not always acknowledged. She began conducting interviews and writing about them on her blog.

“That’s how Salubrious initially started – as a blog, and it soon grew into a non-profit organisation with the launching of workshops on ‘STEM for change’,” she explains. “Now we have expanded our mission to not just promote STEM education for girls but also to teach them financial literacy, sponsor their education and provide skill development and entrepreneurship guidance. We also make them aware of government schemes that could benefit them.” Her organisation conducts a mix of online and offline activities.

Rising above the odds

‘Nothing came easy’ for the teen, the biggest barrier being her age. Born and raised in Gorakhpur, she had to function within a society that simply wasn’t as open-minded as a metropolitan city. However, after initial hiccups, Vaishnavi was able to establish confidence in her purpose and associate her cause with NGOs and schools that helped her movement grow.

“Social media has played a good role in expanding our reach,” she remarks. ‘The Salubrious Organisation’ has chapters abroad in places like Nigeria, Kenya, USA, Canada, Nepal, UAE, Bangladesh, Philippines, Malaysia and South Africa.

Equality is for everyone

Salubrious’ volunteers from different countries identify under-resourced schools in their own localities, organise ‘STEM for change’ workshops that follow a specially-crafted curriculum and monitor progress. Children are taught the importance of learning science in an application-based manner, to help them understand that STEM is useful to our lives in countless ways. The team has also organised a LeadHERship Summit which saw participation from youngsters from various countries. It conducts Tech Connect every three months, which is a work shop and panel discussion surrounding computer science and technology.

Vaishnavi after a ‘STEM for Change’ workshop

“Our major focus is girls but we are inclusive in nature. So, the workshops are for all genders and are conducted by male volunteers also. If we are standing for gender equality, everyone should be made part of the movement,” tells Vaishnavi.

Turning heads

Vaishnavi’s initiatives are inspirational in more ways than one. The youngest of four siblings, she is grateful to her parents who have ensured good education for all their kids even though they didn’t have it themselves. Her father dropped out in middle school, while her mother graduated class 10.

The youngster works relentlessly to make a difference in the lives of other girls from humble backgrounds, who lack the resources they need to chase their aspirations. After she won $1000 as Girl Up’s Project Award from United Nations Foundation, and crowd funding from local shopkeepers, she equipped a school with five computers and a science lab.

The 12th grade student of Gorakhpur Public School, intends to study computer science, environment ethics and economics in college. She received $1500 after winning 2022 Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs Award for funding her education of 11th and 12th grade. Apart from addressing gender gap in STEM, Vaishnavi has been working to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene in underprivileged communities through her ‘period power’ project. She aspires to become a social-tech entrepreneur to introduce game changing solutions for society’s benefit.

Vaishnavi will soon be participating at the UN General Assembly 77 Science Summit, a hybrid event taking place in the US. The changemaker has been named a Global Teen Leader in 2022 and received the Young Achiever’s Award in 2021.

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Published on 20, Sep 2022

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Umasri Pujyam: An NRI teenage crusader’s fight against pollution in Godavari

(May 24, 2023) The Godavari River, winding through the scenic Konaseema district, is a vital lifeline for its residents. Over time, however, pollution has been steadily chipping away at its vitality. Umasri Pujyam, a 15-year-old Memphis-based NRI, has been combating this very issue and has become the voice of the river, making waves in her passionate fight against pollution. In a short span of two years, the young crusader has already conducted over 100 river clean-up days in the Godavari, by bringing together volunteers from the local community to address the grim issue of water and plastic pollution and promoting access to clean drinking water for those affected by this existential threat. Even though she left for the US when she was just four, her ties to her native place (Ponnamanda village) have always been strong. It was the sight of the once-pristine Godavari river stretch near Razole in the Konaseema district that compelled her into action. "I found that river Godavari, which is central to the livelihoods of millions of people, is facing a range of threats, including water and plastic pollution," says the teenager, who is also worried about the impact of agricultural practices on the local environment

he local environment as her village Ponnamanda is largely agriculture-based. Moreover, explaining her mission, she said, "The heavy use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in farming has led to runoff that contaminates streams and rivers, further exacerbating the problem of water pollution. This made me take up the river cleanup and environmental protection mission."

Journeying to the Godavari River

Leaving the comfort of her home in the US, Umasri, who is currently studying in Class X, embarked on a journey to protect the Godavari's ecosystem, setting an exemplary model for youth across the world. From organising cleanup drives to rallying local communities, Umasri’s contributions towards reviving the river have been nothing short of extraordinary. She has transformed her journey into a movement, inspiring locals and authorities alike.

When she collected plastic waste from Godavari for 100 days, the act not just inspired the panchayat staff but also created a sense of responsibility among the youth. This led to the formation of ‘Youth Against Water Pollution’, an organisation that's raising voices against the water issues faced by the people of Konaseema.

[caption id="attachment_30314" align="aligncenter" width="662"] Umasri Pujyam cleaning the banks of Godavari river[/caption]

It was in 2021 that she began working on the mission while attending virtual classes. Since then, the movement has expanded and so has her outreach. Apart from her fieldwork in India, she is also creating awareness through social media.

Raising awareness

Umasri has also been instrumental in raising awareness about the hazards of pollution, not just to the river, but the overall ecosystem. Educational workshops, public awareness campaigns, and open dialogues have become commonplace in the Konaseema district, thanks to Umasri's initiative. She stresses the importance of sustainable practices and responsible waste disposal, emphasizing that change must start at the grassroots level.

For the last few years, she has been raising alarm against the untreated sewage and plastic - which is the key cause behind the river’s pollution. Moreover, Umasri has been guiding the locals on proper waste disposal and ways to reduce their impact on the environment and water sources. She cleans the river mostly on her own but often finds help from the locals in the form of volunteers. "I have collaborated with local officials and politicians including Amalapuram MP Chinta Anuradha and Razole MLA Rapaka to help work towards better environmental policies and conditions as well," the Global Indian added. This collective effort has removed tonnes of waste from the river, reducing pollution levels significantly and making a visible impact on the water quality.

In the pipeline

For someone passionate about environmental engineering and technology, she envisions the implementation of waste management systems and the introduction of eco-friendly alternatives to curb pollution. Besides, Umasri also aspires to engineer innovative and effective sewage treatment solutions that will help priortise access to clean water for all.

Her ultimate goal is to have a bright future for the villagers, wherein the health and prosperity of local communities are sustained. Umasri’s campaign is not just about restoring the Godavari River; it's about empowering the people who depend on it, building a better, sustainable future for them, and the generations to come. This dynamic young leader has shown that every small step matters.

Reading Time: 4 min

The Indian defense: The young grandmasters on the world chess circuit

(October 20, 2022) It's what journalist Chidanand Rajghatta aptly describes as 'the gold rush in Indian chess'. Teenage grandmasters are taking the global chess stage by storm, putting world champion Magnus Carlsen to shame over and over again. From the wide-eyed Praggnanandhaa to Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh, and Vidit Gujrathi, the Indian contingent is stronger than ever before, drawing admiration from within the country, and outside. All three teenagers have enjoyed an outstanding run in 2022, their victories over Carlsen being the highlight of their growing list of accomplishments. "I think it just shows that Arjun and Gukesh are very, very strong players who can compete well against whoever is sitting on the other side of the board," former five-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand said, commenting on the Indian cohort's performance in the Aimchess Rapid in October. Global Indian takes a look at young champions who are making India proud on the world stage. What's the point of playing chess, one might ask. Does being able to strategise across the board make a difference to society? Just like anybody else with a purpose or a passion, India's young grandmasters have made enormous sacrifices, showing great clarity of thought as they make life-changing

ung grandmasters have made enormous sacrifices, showing great clarity of thought as they make life-changing decisions, like quitting school, for instance, to choose their passions. D. Gukesh and his father have slept in airports - the teenager who stunned Magnus Carlsen has played himself to the point of exhaustion. Arjun Erigaisi decided at 18 that college wasn't for him. Entering the elite rungs of chess has meant hard work and single-minded passion for each one of the Indian stars.

Arjun Erigaisi

In 2021, Arjun Erigaisi made history when he became the first Indian to enter the quarterfinals of the Goldmoney Asian Rapid online chess tournament. He was the lowest-rated player when he entered and took on Levon Aronian (to whom he lost in the Aimchess Rapid after beating world champion, Magnus Carlsen). It was a magnificent show of talent - the 18-year-old proved himself against champions like Wesley So, Saleh Salem, Carlsen, and Anish Giri, to finish seventh.

Erigaisi, who lives in Hanmakonda with his family, was 13 years old when he qualified for the World Youth Championship in 2016. The youngster had begun training at the Race Academy in Hyderabad. In 2021, after the World Rapid and Blitz didn't go his way, he knew it was time to make a choice. Erigaisi told his parents he wanted to quit college and requested their support. It was a life-changing decision in more ways than one and Erigaisi embarked on one of the best years of his chess career.

He began 2022 by winning the Tata Steel Challengers event with one round to spare, reaching a draw with the Czech Republic's Thai Dai Van Nguyen. He was the fourth Indian to win the event. Even Magnus Carlsen, who doesn't always concede with grace, had words of praise for the young teen, saying, "He is by far the best player (in the Challengers) and plays chess in a way that I enjoy.” In August, he also bagged the top spot at the 28th Abu Dhabi Masters (six of the top 10 spots went to Indians), going on to defeat Magnus Carlsen in October 2022 at the Aimchess Rapid, before losing out in the quarterfinals.

D. Gukesh

In October 2022, at the Aimchess Rapid, Donnarumma Gukesh made history, becoming the youngest player to beat the world champion, Magnus Carlsen. The 16-year-old, who was playing white, defeated the Norwegian champion in the 9th round, breaking Praggnanandhaa's record by a hair. Surprisingly, the prodigy said in his post-game analysis, "Beating Magnus is always special, but I was not very proud of that game." For a while, it looked as if Carlsen had the upper hand, only to have the tables turned by the gifted teenager.

When Gukesh's father, Rajnikanth, noticed his son's passion for chess, he remembered his youth. He had been an avid sportsman, playing cricket in school and making it to the state selections. His parents, however, wouldn't hear of it, ensuring their son studied hard and became a doctor. So, when Gukesh made his passion known, he would come home from work, put his sleeping son into the backseat of the car, and drive all night across Tamil Nadu to take him to a chess tournament. "We would finish, I would put him in the car and drive back, then go to work on Monday." When Gukesh began receiving invitations to compete at larger tournaments, his father closed his clinics and devoted himself to his son full-time.

Prolific and single-minded

Gukesh is single-minded about the game, showing little interest in other matters. For his father, there's no debate whatsoever. "Let him choose," he said, in an interview with ChessBase. "It's not my decision. I could see his heart was in the game. My wife and I always needed to sit with him for his schoolwork but when he saw a book on chess or the board, he would put in everything he had."

He's also one of the most prolific players in the circuit. In 2021, soon after the pandemic, he played over a dozen tournaments in Europe in around four months. In 2021, when pandemic restrictions were still in place, Gukesh and his father booked one-way tickets to Europe. After the Portugal Chess Tour, they received an invitation from the European Club. Then came the Bulgaria Rapid and FIDE entered Gukesh as a wild card for the Swiss Grand Prix.

Gukesh and his father have often slept in airports as well. "We didn't have any kind of lineage or background in the game, we were ignorant of how things were done and I guess that worked out well," his father said. "If I see a good tournament, I can't resist. He also wants to play. If a month passes without a tournament, he starts nagging me. He wants to play too, so I say yes."

Vidit Gujrathi

Out of the five Indians invited to the Aimchess Rapid online tournament, Vidit was among the three who made it to the quarterfinal. He attained the Grandmaster title in 2013 and in August 2022, was the fifth highest rated player in India, after Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh D, Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna. Born in Nashik, Vidit began training from a young age, finishing second at the Asian Youth Championships in the U12 category in 2006, becoming a FIDE Master as he did so.

When he was around six years old, Vidit was taken to the gymkhana to sign up for an afterschool activity. He chose chess, which he had already played with his father. "The first thing I learned at the class was king pawn versus king and how to win this position," he tells ChessBase India. By then, he was already familiar with how to move the pieces. "I liked cricket but I was too young, so chess happened."

Part of the elite

Vidit stole the spotlight in 2019, when he beat Vladimir Kramnik and Shakriyar Mamedyarov to become one of four Indians to win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. By the age of 14, he had become an International Master and four years later, was a Grandmaster. "I was 18 when I became a GM and until the age of 20, I stayed at the rating of 2650, which is decent. But I felt like I was stuck there," he told Scroll.in. At that point, he began working with another elite player, Anish Giri, calling it a "game-changer because I started to realise how top players really work." Being an elite GM, he says, means living at a different scale. "They have regular training camps and get lots of funding. They have a team, which is different from working alone or with just one coach."

His motivation comes from playing the other stars. "It gets my adrenaline flowing," he said in the interview with Scroll.in. "I know that I will improve if nothing more. Also, there is no pressure for me when I play good players. If I face Carlsen, there is no pressure, on the other hand, if I face some prodigy, then I have nothing to gain from it. But I still motivate myself. When I play Praggnanandhaa, for example, I am extra motivated. I want to get the edge and keep it."

Reading Time: 7 mins

His brother’s keeper: Yash Gandhi Foundation leads the way in I-Cell disease research

(December 7, 2022) Yash Gandhi was eleven months old, the much-adored firstborn son of Ash and Sonal Gandhi, when he was diagnosed with a rare, terminal disease. He wouldn't make it past the age of five, doctors said, and there was nothing anyone could do. Shattered, his parents scoured the internet for information and answers, finding none. Their search for solace led to the creation of the Yash Gandhi Foundation in 2001, which has, over the years, given out sizeable grants for I-Cell research and has reached hundreds of thousands of people across over a dozen countries. In 2016, their younger son, Kavi Gandhi, took over the foundation and has been running it since, determined to keep his brother's memory alive. To fight another day What they did find, however, was stories - hundreds of them, all similar to their own. The internet was full of devastated parents who, instead of allowing grief to debilitate them, were determined to fight for their kids instead. In some cases, these struggles even resulted in a miracle cure. That was how the idea for the Yash Gandhi Foundation first came about. "With the clock against us, we knew that any work we did

rmined to fight for their kids instead. In some cases, these struggles even resulted in a miracle cure. That was how the idea for the Yash Gandhi Foundation first came about. "With the clock against us, we knew that any work we did was unlikely to benefit Yash, but to us, it didn't matter," Ash and Sonal Gandhi write, on the Yash Gandhi Foundation website. "What was most important was that we could make a difference and prevent another family from going through what we were at the time."

[caption id="attachment_25140" align="aligncenter" width="1620"] The founders of the Yash Gandhi Foundation, Kavi Gandhi with his family. Photo: Twitter[/caption]

Handing over the reins

Today, the Foundation is run by their second son, Kavi Gandhi, now a student at Davidson College. In three years, they raised $460,000 to aid I-Cell research, to prevent the disease that claimed his brother's life from taking another. I-cell disease is caused by a genetic mutation and is a rare, inherited metabolic disorder "characterised by coarse facial features, skeletal abnormalities and mental retardation," according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. Children with I-cell disease show delayed development of gross and fine motor skills, hearing loss, lack of muscle tone and growth delays.

The Gandhis ran their foundation, the only one in the world for I-Cell, for 15 years. In 2013, they even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for their cause. Three years later, however, they believed the time had come to close the foundation. Their 13-year-old son, Kavi, was not happy to hear the news. After giving it a few days of thought, he announced to his parents that he was going to revive the foundation and run it himself, in memory of his brother.

Growing up with Yash

Only two years younger than Yash Gandhi, the family's trauma impacted Kavi too. He recalls a slew of hospital trips, and watching his brother hooked up to oxygen tanks and walkers. "We were really close like a lot of siblings are at that age," Kavi said. "A lot of my memories are from playing with him and spending time together. Those six years, I've definitely cherished and still retained a lot of those memories."

When Yash passed away in 2009, the family created the Yash Gandhi Foundation. "Losing my sibling was probably one of the most formative experiences for me... the foundation is a way to transform the grief I felt with my brother into really honouring his memory and preserving that," Kavi remarked.

[caption id="attachment_25141" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Kavi Gandhi was named the 2018 Global Genes RARE Champion of Hope for Teen Advocacy[/caption]

At the frontier of I-Cell disease research

Since he took over the foundation in 2006, Kavi has worked to connect with other families who have been impacted by I-Cell and has raised nearly half a million dollars towards ML II research. In 2020, Kavi interned at the Greenwood Genetic Center to study the disease in human and zebrafish cells. The young Global Indian is a 2021 John M Belk Scholar at Davidson College, where he is doing his undergraduate degree in Public Health, with a Minor in Hispanic studies. He's also a member of the university's jazz ensemble.

In 2018, Global Genes named Gandhi the 2018 Global Genes RARE Champion of Hope for Teen Advocacy. Every year since 2012, the Yash Gandhi Foundation has issued research grants - in 2020, a smiling Kavi, standing with his parents, announced a $130,000 grant, their largest to date, to Dr Richard Street at the Greenwood Genetic Centre and Dr Stuart Kornfield of Washington University.

Follow Yash Gandhi Foundation on Twitter

Youngest author to land a book deal, Schwarzman Scholar Manthan Shah is a fountain of ideas

(April 10, 2022) He's among a small handful of non-Ivy League students to bag the prestigious Schwarzman Scholarship for 2022-23. A quick Google search throws up headlines like, “Three Princeton graduates” and “Four Stanford grads.” Still, Manthan Shah arrives at our video call surprised. “I don’t understand why you want to write about me,” he quips. “There are many better people...” His modesty is misplaced. At 22, Manthan boasts a long list of achievements – he’s a national-level table tennis champion, the youngest Indian to win the Spartan Trifecta, a global endurance challenge and the youngest writer to sign with Penguin Random House for his book, Unstoppable, a collection of stories on young Indians who have defied the odds on their journey to success. In August, Manthan will begin his year-long master’s in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing’s Forbidden City. Manthan has also had his own podcast from the age of 19. On Planet Impact, he interviews social entrepreneurs across the world. [caption id="attachment_14637" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Manthan Shah[/caption] Entry to The Forbidden City At 22, Shah speaks with a wisdom that far belies his age, brought on, maybe by years of disciplined, athletic training as a table-tennis player.

han Shah[/caption]

Entry to The Forbidden City

At 22, Shah speaks with a wisdom that far belies his age, brought on, maybe by years of disciplined, athletic training as a table-tennis player. and of having to rethink his dreams when his peers were just beginning to form theirs. The Schwarzman Scholarship, Manthan tells Global Indian, came almost out of the blue. A student at SP Jain School of Global Management (Mumbai), it was the unerring faith his dean, Professor Golo Weber, instilled in him that pushed Manthan to apply - he put together his application, statement of purpose and video essay in under a week.

His application was among 400 selected out of 3,000 for an interview round held in Beijing, London, New York or Singapore. The interview, Manthan admits, was quite formidable, with a panel of CEOs, former prime ministers, heads of global companies like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Stanley, and parliamentarians. Asked how he would bring nations together in a polarised world, he said with aplomb, describing what he calls the “Pearl Harbour moment,” which redefined the course of the Second World War. “In terms of the climate, we have Pearl Harbour moments every day and still, we refuse to act.” Unsurprisingly, his master’s programme will focus on achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

[caption id="attachment_14633" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Manthan with Professor Golo Weber[/caption]

“People have prepared for years for this,” Manthan remarks. “I just happened to get an email from my Professor Golo, with a list of scholarships he thought would suit me." With the deadline so imminent, Manthan didn't think he stood a chance, although his professor disagreed. “I had two weeks, I procrastinated for one,” he laughs. “But my professor helped me with everything - the essay prompts, my CV and best of all, a glowing letter of recommendation.” That two-page letter is now framed on his bedroom wall. His editor at Penguin Random House and his boss, Shuva Raha, Head of New Initiatives at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water also chipped in at once. "They are the three busiest people on earth but they did it immediately,” he grins.

The early years

Born and raised in Ahmednagar (120 km from Pune), Manthan was six when he played his first game of table tennis. Very soon, he found he was beating people twice his age. “At 10, I begged dad to move us to Pune. Luckily, he listened to me,” Manthan says. He moved to Pune with his mother (his father remained in Ahmednagar to run the family business). Thus, began of a life of athletic rigour and discipline. Home-schooled to enable training - it involved seven hours a day, six days a week –fitness for an hour, training for two, meditation, journaling, more training, and yoga.

His efforts paid off. He represented India as Under 18 team captain at the Pacific School Games in Australia. In India, he led the Maharashtra team to two golds, the individual and the team medals, at the School Games Federation of India National Championships 2014-15. Although he was enrolled at Symbiosis School (Pune), but had “a deal with the principal,” as was playing most of the time.

[caption id="attachment_14631" align="aligncenter" width="553"] At the Pacific School Games in Adelaide, Australia[/caption]

At first glance, it seems like a journey filled with triumphs. Manthan disagrees. “It was the tail end of a bell curve,” he says. “There were sparks of achievement in between many, many failures.” His relationship with his coach was an unhappy one and there were infrastructure constraints. “I would have had to go to China or Germany. I couldn’t have stayed in Pune,” Manthan says, adding, “It didn’t seem worth the trouble, it seemed like an endless struggle for mediocrity. You work so hard with no assurance of success.”

The road less travelled

Thus, taking a step back, at 17, from his dream of being an Olympian, he recalls, “I felt like I wanted to make things easier for young Indians and hit the pause button on table tennis.” Instead, Manthan took a gap year, worked for some non-profits (Teach for India, the Akanksha Foundation, and local orphanages). He started his own organisation too, reaching out to children with potential, creating a network to connect volunteers with various NGOs.

It takes some prodding before Manthan opens up about the toll that a gap year took. He recounts a dreamy, Kerouac-like experience of hitching rides and sleeping anywhere (including a temple) as he travelled across India. “I was angry and resentful and travelling without a plan,” he admits as he evaluated career avenues, and how to find success. “I was looking for books to motivate me but there was quite a dearth,” Manthan remarks, adding. “A lot was written by older people who said vague things like ‘dream big’ and ‘think positive.’ In America, they wrote about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, whose stories can never be compared with ours.”

[caption id="attachment_14632" align="aligncenter" width="759"] Manthan Shah in 2019, became the youngest Indian to win the Spartan Trifecta[/caption]

So, “as a young, overconfident Indian, I decided to write my own book.” A two-year diploma (remote) in creative writing later, he learned to tell a story. “It was all very textbook. Then I did a six-month course at Georgetown University, under Dr Eric Koester, who helped me write the first few chapters.”

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water

Failures are just stepping stones for Shah, so when his intern application at CEEW didn't amount to anything - he invited the CEO, Dr Ghosh to be on his podcast, with a passing mention of his application. Far from sitting neck deep in research, Manthan found himself consulting ministers, reaching out to parliaments and working with the United Nations. “My personal project was to interact with the heads of all the smart city projects,” he says, adding, “I was talking to heads of major conglomerates, including JK Cements and ITC on how they were reducing carbon footprints.”

The book, Unstoppable, was also unfolding. An author on his podcast connected him to an editor. Comparing offers from Westland and Penguin Random House, two proteges (both older), who were learning about podcasts, helped him create a “mind-map” of people to feature.

[caption id="attachment_14636" align="aligncenter" width="682"] Hosting his podcast, Planet Impact, in Ahmednagar in 2021[/caption]

Thrilled at a book coming out, he confesses he is not in a hurry to write a second. “The research took months to complete, the writing took two years. Also, there is nervous anticipation. I worry about how many people will buy my book,” he mulls.

Still unconvinced about his worthiness, Shah speaks with gratitude and fondness about those who stood by him. “I am where I am because of all the strangers who championed and honed me,” Manthan smiles. “I’m a vessel for the support and encouragement they had - strangers, my parents, brother, teachers and Dr Ghosh. I’m merely a sum of their contributions.”

Follow Manthan on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

Reading Time: 6 min

Let’s build sustainable rockets, says teen changemaker Anushka Sharad

(May 25, 2022) Sustainability in space exploration is one of modern man's biggest dilemmas, drawing bright young minds all in pursuit of a solution. Among them is eleventh-grader Anushka Sharad. A NASA citizen scientist who has helped search for asteroids, the teen changemaker shows a gravity far beyond her years. She aims to bring scientific knowledge to peers with less access and open their eyes to the vast possibilities the study of science affords. She is the founder of seekinspace.com, a NASA Citizen Scientist, science communicator and an amateur poet. "Theoretical astrophysics and computational astronomy are my areas of study," says Anushka, a serious teenager with an approach that is far beyond her years. Thousands of rockets and satellites launched over the last fifty years leading to a sizeable accumulation of junk outside the earth's orbit, sustainable space exploration is one of Anushka's focus areas. Her interest is timely: The subject of space debris has entered mainstream discourse and in 2021, China found itself under criticism from NASA for "failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris." The reproach came after remnants from China's Long March 5B rocket fell into the Indian Ocean only to be met with stubborn

r space debris." The reproach came after remnants from China's Long March 5B rocket fell into the Indian Ocean only to be met with stubborn silence from those responsible. Another focus area is asteroid mining - rich in elements and minerals, asteroids are untapped resources. "Can we harness methods like 3D printing and look at options like asteroid mining to curb our pollution of the earth," Anushka asks, in an interview with Global Indian.

STEM awareness and a personal space odyssey

Recently, Anushka began her role as a Global Ambassador with the Women Tech Network. The community, based in California, promotes gender diversity in technology and connects professionals with top companies and startups. It is a culmination, of sorts, of her attempts to spread awareness on the diverse potential of STEM subjects. For, not one to restrict herself to a single area of study, Anushka delivers lectures on AI and machine learning to other students, hoping to help them understand how they work. She also visits schools to spread awareness on the STEM fields.

"Most students don't know how many career options there are in science. It's not just about physics and math or engineering as a career. There are many choices - technology, chemistry and biology to name a few. But students don't explore these options," explains the teen changemaker. "I have done the exploration and understand how much can be done. I must tell the others too," she tells Global Indian.

In August 2021, Anushka began seekinspace.com, where she publishes her articles and blogs. She is also a researcher with The Nebula Space Organisation, a research platform for students by students. Also associated with The Aurora Academic Journal, another student run venture that works with young researchers from across the globe, Anushka has written over 70 articles on astronomy. "I showed up on YouTube as well," Anushka says. "It's mostly for the AI sessions I conduct along with informative videos and opportunities in STEM fields."

Back to the beginning

"I knew I was made for science and it was made for me," Anushka remarks quietly. When she was in middle school, she got her hands on an encyclopaedia of science that covered an extensive breadth of topics. As she pored through them, her young mind was captivated by the idea that "We humans are made of stardust. We are the same as the cosmos. I am a cosmic entity," she smiles.

Inspired by idea, she studied more and more - always on her own, she says, "I have had no real mentor to guide me or even to point me in the right direction”. The pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown, leaving Anushka with enough time on her hands to continue her studies. She started reading every article she could find, watching videos and documentaries and making lists of books to read. She ordered the books online, building her "treasury of books," as she puts it. Writing articles to help herself analyse the information, Anushka discovered a flair for writing that she uses in her research papers, to write poetry and also, in her first book.

"I was intrigued with Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design," Anushka says. "He makes an argument against God, saying that there is no God and everything is natural," says Anushka. "I am a spiritual human being so I thought that if I want to understand God, I must read something against him. To me, it's about the power of nature."

The solitary observer

Always an observer, Anushka likes to spend her time in nature, paying attention the plants and animals she finds there. "I also like mountaineering," she says, describing many childhood vacations in the hills. "I climb the mountains and think, what is nature trying to teach me? What is it telling me? When I return, I recall those experience and try to understand what they were trying to tell me," she says. Hers is a life of observation marked by solitude, even at her young age. "Solitude is where I find my solace," Anushka admits.

Perhaps it was the solitary nature of her work but Anushka knew it was important for her to gain confidence and speak in public. "I began reaching out to students on Instagram and LinkedIn," says the teen, who is active on social media platforms. "I love connecting with students, especially when they are curious," says the teen changemaker.

Anushka visits CBSE and ICSE schools, organising sessions for students in Pune, where she lives. In October, she hopes to conduct her first session for adults as well, in collaboration with another organisation. "It will be a night camp like the one I had for students," she says. The night camp was her own first experience with a telescope, set up at the campsite beside a lake.

Science communicator

When her blogs and articles became popular among her family and friends, Anushka thought she might like to dabble in it. "I brought my skills in science and language together to be a science writer," says the teen changemaker. "As I understood more about astronomy, astrophysics, neuralinks, AI and machine learning, I wanted to find a way to unite technology and space exploration. Humans can't really travel through space but robots can. And I want to use my skills to be part of something like this, to create something that is bigger than me."

The road ahead

Currently in the midst of preparing for her SATs and IELTs, Anushka hopes to study abroad. "There are so many opportunities available. We get to research at a very early age, which is a big advantage," says Anushka. "India doesn't lack expertise but a bachelor's degree in astrophysics is hard to find," she says. "I also thought, if people like Kalam and Gandhi can benefit from studying abroad, why can't I? I want to study elsewhere and come back here to make an impact." The teen changemaker intends to remain in research, pushing the frontiers of what is known and what can be done, like "building sustainable rockets that are in keeping with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals," she suggests. "No matter what I do, my sole purpose is simply to serve humanity."

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