Speaker 1: Today, I'm interviewing Snigdha Mohanraj, a rising senior at Engineering and Science University Magnet School and researcher at Yale University. If you're interested in STEM, science research, or science fairs, you'll want to stick around. Snigdha's science fair journey has been filled with accolades upon accolades all the way back from middle school. In 2020, Snigdha was a top 30 national finalist in the Broadcom Masters. In 2021, Snigdha was a finalist and third place finisher in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. And guess what happened in 2022? Snigdha won first place at the Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and qualified for the International Science and Engineering Fair. Fast forward a couple of years and Snigdha has been recognized several more times as a RISE Global Winner and through the U.S. Senate Youth Program, ISEF, JSHS, and more. I'd like to welcome Snigdha to the Rishabh Jain YouTube channel for an exciting episode. I'm your host, Rishabh, and as an ex-science fair competitor myself, now a researcher and student, I'm super excited to learn more about Snigdha's journey and any advice for viewers. Welcome Snigdha.

Speaker 2: Hello. It's good to see you.

Speaker 1: So here on my channel, I frequently talk about ISEF and high school level science competitions, but you have a very impressive start super early on at the middle school level. So for any viewers who don't know, at the middle school level, there are actually several science competitions such as the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and the Broadcom Masters Program, which kind of offer, I think, younger students an opportunity to get involved in science fairs. So Snigdha, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell us a little bit more about how you first got involved so early in science fair. What was maybe your first science fair project? How did you come across science fair? What was the story there?

Speaker 2: Yeah, so I actually started to get involved in science fair as early as kindergarten. So in the New Haven area for the district, we have a science fair and these are very small projects. I remember one of them was we didn't actually develop anything on our own. We were like seven, of course, but it was like using solar batteries for like a car and just like racing them. Something that's very simple, but it's like you're designing your own experiment. And I got really lucky to have kind of that innovative thinking from an early part of my life. And so I think the first project we did was probably like in kindergarten and they had like three of us present at the district fair just to represent the whole class. I thought that was a lot of fun. And then in fifth grade, I got to do my own independent project. And for that, it was a very simple project. It was using Daphnia, which is like this microorganism to monitor acid rain levels. So basically on a low level, it was just if the Daphnia die, it's very acidic. If they don't, they're OK and the water is fine. But again, just like having that innovative thinking, just trying to design my own project and having that freedom. It really sparked some curiosity in me and I had a lot of fun with it. And then in seventh grade, I actually started getting into my interest with water contamination, water quality, starting to pioneer my own contaminant removal systems. And I just thought it was a really important project, a really important field that not a lot of people know is really a big issue. And so after that, I just got hooked and I've started working on it since.

Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah, kindergarten is definitely a pretty early start. But I think like a lot of the viewers here, myself included, there are like some really old memories, whether it's like at the museum or just doing some fun project at home or at school where, you know, the spark of curiosity and innovation started at that young age. But I think there are a decent amount of students who are watching right now who are middle schoolers or early in high school. So as a rising senior now, I was wondering if you have any tips for their science fair journey for people who are just getting started in science fairs and science research broadly?

Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think this kind of applies to everything. So it's a very basic piece of advice. But like, don't procrastinate. That was my biggest thing. Science fair season, I would say is normally around like March, at least it is in Connecticut. So like February, March, April, and things build up at the end of the school year. And so something that I learned throughout my research journey, even when I was in middle school, was to start kind of brainstorming ideas in the summer and then starting to actually do the research in the fall, if possible, and then the winter. And for me, my school never had a research program. I've been at the same school since middle school, high school, but my school doesn't have any research program. I didn't have a mentor at this age. And actually, when I started really getting serious about research, COVID hit right then. And so everything I was doing at home, and I would say there were very limited resources. There is always a way around that, though. And especially with technology becoming a lot more accessible and a lot of online tools, there are a lot of ways to, even if you can't actually carry out your project in a physical sense, there might be an online version that you might be able to do to model that. You might be able to virtually work with someone who can help you out. There's just, there's always going to be a lot of barriers. And right now, there are so many tools that are accessible. So I'd say when I was young, I didn't let that stop me. I got pretty unlucky with COVID hitting right around then as well. I guess just like there are a lot of resources out there. And if you can find a clear, defined passion, some kind of interest that you have in research, if you're just looking for those tools, there's so many that are out there. And even past that, you can design your own tools. For example, for myself, I really needed a physical piece of equipment. I didn't have access to it. It was COVID, couldn't go anywhere. So I built a spectrometer on my own to collect data. There was a resource online, a video tutorial. I was able to make that on my own. It didn't stop me. And I'd say there are a lot of barriers, especially when you're young, but that doesn't mean that it has to stop you.

Speaker 1: Great. Yeah. So we actually had an audience question that related very closely to what you just talked about. From Arshia Ghosh, who actually asked that, if you're a young student and you have a great project idea, but you need cutting edge supplies, lab testing, and some of those can be pretty expensive, and you're short of money or resources, what do you do? We had another question from Ayane C, who also asked, how can students get their hands on materials that are often limited to professionals independently without access to that, like cells? And so I know you briefly touched on this with the example of building your own, what was it, a spectrometer? Is that correct? Yeah. That's really cool. And I know some tools, students might be able to find resources like that. Are there any suggestions you have for equipment or things like cells? Or I know that might not particularly relate to your specific example, but any friends you've had in science fair who have come up with workarounds or things that they've done to overcome those types of obstacles in their science fair journeys?

Speaker 2: Yeah, it's definitely going to be a case by case kind of thing, like what kind of project you're working in, what field it is. And there are some things that you really just, you need to have for the project. It might be just such an integral part of it that there isn't any substitute. But more often than not, there is an alternate. Like I used in my previous example, I didn't have access to a piece of equipment that I really needed. So I just made a low level version of it that was still able to collect the data good enough. I mean, it was a middle school project, so it didn't have to be that good. But there usually is an alternate or substitute that you can use. The other thing that really came in handy is I just mass emailed a bunch of people. Any connection that I had within science fair, emailed, emailed, emailed. So like in seventh grade, I used the homemade spectrometer. But in eighth grade, I emailed everyone until I got in contact with a teacher at some random school that's about like 40 minutes from me. But they were willing to help. So I made the drive up with my mom and I was able to collect my data there. And that was just pure luck. Like I emailed maybe 100 people and out of that 100 people, maybe only five of them actually had the equipment that I was looking for. Only two or three of them will respond. And in this case, it was only one person who was able to help me. But if you're doing that, it's kind of just a game of odds. Like if you email enough people, someone's going to be able to help you or put you in contact with someone else who can help you. So that's the other thing that really came in handy. If you don't have access to a piece of equipment or something else that you need, just email anyone you know. There's honestly like no repercussions. The worst that happens is that they think you're a little bit of annoying and they won't respond. But it's OK. And the chance that it might actually save your entire project.

Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I completely agree. And the piece you said about odds is definitely correct. I think this is almost a misconception that a lot of people watching this video might have is that, you know, sometimes you have to have like prior connections to get involved in research or, you know, your parents have to be the director of the lab that, you know, does the exact thing in order to get involved. But I think that's a full misconception, as I've talked to a lot of my friends who have done science fair and my own experience as well, who found that people are often really helpful if you just take a second to reach out. Or in some cases, if you're just getting started, sometimes it takes quite a few emails. But that definitely does help. I do want to ask you, you know, I read in your bio that you are doing research at Yale and maybe a couple of labs. I was wondering, how did you kind of get involved in doing research like that? And, you know, how do you find the experience of working with a mentor? Did you, was this mentorship that ended up going to the science fair? Or was your science fair project completely independent? Could you talk a little bit about, you know, the experience of starting research at a lab?

Speaker 2: Yeah, so all of the research that I competed with, I completed completely on my own, either at home or in the school lab. And then like a little piece of equipment here and there, some university professors that were able to help me. But most of it was done on my own. It wasn't part of a lab, a lab's research. But I did work an internship last summer at Southern Connecticut State University. That was my first research experience. I was in their Wirth Industry Academic Fellowship. That was a great experience, just putting me in the lab, getting myself kind of acclimated to what a professional lab experience would look like. And then I worked with the Page and Guo Research Group in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at Yale University. A few months ago, I started with that. And most closely right now, that's what I just came home from. I'm working with the Zong Research Group in, again, the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at Yale. And it's been a great experience. This is something, or actually to rewind a little bit, my first research experience at Yale, I got that through literally mass email. And so it kind of relates back to my other piece of advice. You know, it's a game of odds. Email everyone you know. I went on a bunch of websites, found a bunch of professors. Cold email, literally hundreds, maybe only like five responded. And then only like two worked out, and I was able to work with this group. In this case, I am a New Haven local student. So it is definitely easier for me to work with Yale University. But with any local university that you have, there are a lot of research internships. Any professors that are willing to help you out, that's, I think, a big misconception. You know, you think of authority figures and you're like, they don't want to work with someone young. But what I've experienced is that they do get excitement and joy out of helping someone get on their career path, teaching them something that they know. And they're excited and happy to do that. And so just putting yourself out there, there are a lot of people who do want to help you. And then for my research internship right now that I'm working over the summer, that is through the Yale Pathways Research Initiative. So it's designed for New Haven students, people in the area, to get some professional lab experience. So that's been great. A big time commitment this summer, but a lot to learn.

Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that just goes to highlight that, you know, for a lot of the students just starting out, they don't need to necessarily, you don't have to have like a mentorship to get started. They can definitely start out independently. And then later on, you know, explore research under a mentorship like you kind of did. And that totally enhances the experience. That's great. Let's pivot to now. I, you know, you mentioned, just got back home from the research that you're working on. And we were talking a little bit about this before the call started. But are you applying to colleges right now? What's going on? And what are you up to kind of this summer?

Speaker 2: Yeah, so this summer, I've been working on my personal statement. And like supplementals just got released. So I've been looking through that kind of refining my college list, figuring out exactly what I want to do. I've been taking it kind of relaxed. That's kind of like some advice that I've heard from people who are older than me. Like either they started way too late or they started early. And it's kind of like just finding that middle where you relax, you enjoy your summer, you enjoy your senior year, but you also don't want to be stressed out cramming at the end. So hopefully I'm following that good enough. I'd like to get a little bit more work done before the fall actually starts. But yeah, lots of college stuff. I did like a civics program, which I've been getting a little involved in just seeing how research can also apply in other fields as well. So I've really been interested in like kind of that interdisciplinary connection. And then after that, the lab internship at Yale, I've been working that for a few weeks. I think I'm in like week five or six right now. And I have a few more weeks to go. And then school starts and then it's just full grind for college.

Speaker 1: I see. I see. And it might be a little bit too early to ask, but do you have any plans for the future? Like 10, 20 years out? Like any ideas on a future career? And we're all exploring, so it's definitely okay if there's nothing super concrete yet.

Speaker 2: Yeah, so I was, I think, a pretty defined like STEM person for a long time. Like I've been doing research for so many years, right? But recently I've gotten a little bit more civically involved, and I've really liked the approach of integrating STEM and like a science perspective into government. I think that's something that's lacking a lot right now, especially when we're dealing with like some mass issues, like climate change, for example, where there isn't really a science perspective that's making some influential change within the government, even though that science perspective is exactly what we need for substantial change. And so I've really liked kind of where research and science intersect with government, politics. And so that's something I definitely kind of want to go into, seeing how I can mix the two things together. And hopefully, I don't really know exactly what I'm going to do next.