{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-alumni-grant-recipient-js","path":"/alumni-center/alumni-grant-recipients/viraj-pandey-2025","result":{"data":{"recipient":{"firstName":"Viraj","lastName":"Pandey","slug":"viraj-pandey-2025","year":2025,"finalistYear":2021,"finalistAward":"Finalist","grantType":"New Idea to Improve the World Grant","cardImage":"2025-viraj-pandey.png","quoteImage":"Pandey-Viraj-2025-Alum-Grant-Quote.png","quote":"Science is a tool to reveal the cosmos’s hidden agenda.","cardDescription":"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.”","aboutProject":["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."],"inspiration":["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."]}},"pageContext":{"slug":"viraj-pandey-2025","relatedRecipients":[{"slug":"sean-jiang-2025","year":2025,"firstName":"Sean","lastName":"Jiang","finalistYear":2023,"finalistAward":"Finalist","grantType":"Continuation of 3M Young Scientist Challenge Project Grant","cardImage":"2025-sean-jiang.png","cardDescription":"Sean was awarded the Continuation of 3M Young Scientist Challenge Project Grant for their work on their 3M Young Scientist Challenge project: \"Infosound—A Novel Navigation Device Powered by AI and Depth-Sensing Technology for the Blind.\""},{"slug":"anish-kosaraju-2025","year":2025,"firstName":"Anish","lastName":"Kosaraju","finalistYear":2023,"finalistAward":"Finalist","grantType":"Science in Your Community Grant","cardImage":"2025-anish-kosaraju.png","cardDescription":"Anish was awarded the Science in Your Community Grant for their work on VeriCare — an AI-boosted solution to medical billing overcharges."},{"slug":"aakash-manaswi-2025","year":2025,"firstName":"Aakash","lastName":"Manaswi","finalistYear":2024,"finalistAward":"Finalist","grantType":"Continuation of 3M Young Scientist Challenge Project Grant","cardImage":"2025-aakash-manaswi.png","cardDescription":"Aakash was awarded the Continuation of 3M Young Scientist Challenge Project Grant for their work on their 3M Young Scientist Challenge project: “Evaluating the Efficacy of Novel Carbon Dioxide Spray and Pesticides Using a Convolutional Neural Network for Varroa Mite Treatment in Honeybee Colonies.”"}]}},"staticQueryHashes":["1877358583","2853049992","3432942819","4119215080","4285582392"]}