Meet Alumni:

Viraj Pandey

2021 3M Young Scientist Challenge Finalist
2025 Alumni Grant Recipient

Viraj was awarded the New Idea to Improve the World Grant for their work on “A Novel Triad for Clean Energy: Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation Using Graphene Quantum Dots, Titanium Dioxide, and Sunlight.”

About their Project

Most hydrogen fuel today is made using non-renewable fuels, which releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Their project explores an alternative way — using sunlight and advanced nanomaterials to split water and produce hydrogen gas. By combining Titanium Dioxide with Graphene Quantum Dots, they have developed a method that boosts hydrogen output by 8 times compared to traditional materials. This research could help make hydrogen a more practical and eco-friendly energy source for the future.

What was the inspiration behind your project?

As a 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalist, I witnessed firsthand how scientific innovation can create real-world solutions, inspiring me to apply that same mindset to one of the world’s most pressing challenges: clean hydrogen production.

Hydrogen holds immense potential as a renewable fuel, but current production methods are either inefficient or heavily reliant on non-renewable fuels. In fact, 95% of hydrogen production today relies on fossil fuels, releasing 830 million tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere annually. This not only undermines hydrogen’s potential as a clean fuel but also contributes significantly to global warming.

My research explores an alternative approach using Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen generation. My current experiments have shown promising results. With support from the 3M Alumni Grant, I hope to expand this research, explore additional applications such as CO₂ capture, and contribute to the global shift toward renewable energy.