Meet Alumni:

Harini Venkatesh

2022 3M Young Scientist Challenge Finalist
2025 Alumni Grant Recipient

Harini was awarded the Science in Your Community Grant for their work on “STEMpower!” - a nonprofit aiming to uplift and encourage students to engage with science in a deeper way.

About their Project

STEMpower! is a student-led nonprofit bringing exciting, hands-on science to kids in libraries, schools, and shelters. Through fun experiments and creative lessons, we introduce big science ideas— like how the brain works or how bridges stay strong—in ways young students can understand and enjoy.

They have run camps, clubs, and demos for over 100 students, and are just getting started. Future plans include building cool tools like a DIY EEG machine and wind tunnel, hosting science fairs, and helping kids design and present their own experiments. Our goal? To spark curiosity and show kids that science is for everyone.

What was the inspiration behind your project?

I want to encourage younger students to explore STEM on a deeper level than they do in school. I strongly believe that young students are capable of understanding difficult topics when they are taught via hands-on methods and brought down to a level that they can understand! I gained immense benefits as a child from learning science concepts early-on through experimentation, and I want to bring the same opportunity and experience to the next generation of young science enthusiasts.