Meet the Mentor:
Dr. Vasav Sahni
3M Advanced Research Specialist
Electronics, Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Automotives
He is a natural-born leader who loves to build teams and products. Currently, Vasav and his team are developing electronic adhesives for next-generation display devices. If you think his role sounds interesting, you are not alone. In 2014, Vasav and his team were featured on Fortune’s "Coolest Jobs in the Fortune 500" list for an invention using biomimicry.
Outside of his full-time job, Vasav is involved in teaching and promoting STEM education to underprivileged students. Additionally, as an active part of Toastmasters International, he enjoys mentoring individuals to improve their communication and leadership skills. Vasav’s research gained the attention of the popular radio program Science Friday, where he participated in a quiz on the “Science of Superheroes.” He also delivered a TEDx talk titled “How I became Spider-Man."
Additionally, Vasav recently cofounded a non-profit organization – HD Solvera – with his 2018 3M Young Scientist Challenge mentee – Krish Wadhwani – that aims to develop innovative solutions to address neurodegenerative conditions.
Vasav holds a PhD in polymer science from the University of Akron where he worked on investigating and mimicking spider-spun adhesives. He also has a bachelor’s degree in textile technology from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi.
Vasav identifies disruptive ideas that lead to new adhesive technologies and products.
Mentees
Veda Murthy
Cognitive Emotion Interpretation Application (CEIA)
Meet Veda. Veda developed the Cognitive Emotion Interpretation Application (CEIA) that helps teachers and caregivers interpret the emotions an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) child is expressing.
Ekansh Mittal
Modeling Gut Microbiome using 3D Microfluidics for Cancer Detection
Meet Ekansh. Ekansh developed a microfluidic device that mimics conditions of the gut microbiome to help test the relationship between bacteria and cancer, as well as new treatments against the disease-causing microorganisms and cancer cells.
Nishant Lahiri
Carbon Capture
Meet Nishant. Nishant developed iCART, a new approach to carbon capture that extracts carbon dioxide from the air and recycles it into natural volcanic rock.
Krish Wadhwani
A Potential Cure to Huntington’s Disease
Krish hopes to cure Huntington’s Disease through an injectable medication using Synthetic Antibody Mimics (SyAMs) to locate and attach to a specific protein found on the surface of cancer cells to ultimately eliminate Huntington’s disease.