Vyomika Gandhi (Conrad 2020): Co-Leader of the ALC

Vyomika is a student at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. studying psychology and neuroscience. She was a 2020 Conrad Finalist and Pete Conrad Scholar in the Cyber-Technology & Security category. With her Conrad Challenge team, she is currently working to patent their winning product, the Opioid Overdose Prevention System. Through her experiences working with the Conrad community, she became fascinated by the intersections between STEM and education which she hopes to further explore in college and beyond. At Georgetown, she is a member of the psychology department’s DEI committee, a student ambassador for the Title IX office, and a dancer on Georgetown University’s Bollywood fusion dance team, Guzaarish.

Mia Yang (Conrad 2019): Co-Leader of the ALC

Mia is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania’s Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management. She was a 2019 Finalist in the Cyber-Technology & Security Category for her company, Autovision Technologies, LLC. Mia and her co-founder also won first prize in the 2019 Diamond Challenge. Through these experiences and a cancer research internship, Mia became interested in the intersection between medicine and business. At Penn, she serves as a board member for Wharton Asia Exchange and Global Research & Consulting, conducts immunology research, and works at Snider Consulting to assist life sciences start-ups. In her free time, she likes creating Japanese floral arrangements, playing violin, doing TaeKwonDo, and exploring biotech venture capital.

Mitchell Phelan (Conrad 2019): Director of the ALC Collaborators

Mitchell is a computer science student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. He graduated from The Knox School in 2019. Having represented the school as a prefect for technology, he is passionately involved in the technology side of productions, videos and concerts, and is planning to pursue a major in cybersecurity and a second in networking at university. Mitchell competed in the Conrad Challenge in 2019, winning the Cyber-Technology & Security category when his team presented their concept of an EFTPOS machine with a fingerprint scanner, helping to inspire his passion for the information technology and security field.

Akash Karri  (Conrad 2018-19)

Akash is a senior at North Carolina State University, where he is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science. A Finalist and Power-Pitch winner in the Aerospace and Aviation category during his time with Conrad, Akash is excited about the future integration of two of his passions: medicine and space. In addition to conducting research work with machine learning and computer vision, he is also involved in aerospace-related research, and is part of NC State’s Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. Akash also competes on his university’s nationally competitive dance team and enjoys cooking and playing guitar.

Isabella Brakhage (Conrad 2019-20)

Isabella Brakhage is a student attending Saint Mary’s College of California to pursue a degree in economics and data science. She was a finalist in the Conrad Challenge in 2019 as a part of the Smoke Free World: Repurposing Tobacco Farms category. Her team cultivated a series of tobacco based products from bandages to salves, later creating a 15 year transition plan to eventually producing asthma medicine. She worked with her high school to teach innovation and helped lead the idea of not being afraid to fail into the curriculum. She has written multiple business plans, filed countless provisional patents, and ideated many different start-ups. She is a Division 1 rower and spends her limited free time reading fun books, hiking, and  shopping at Trader Joes.

Caroline Chen (Conrad 2020-21)

Caroline Chen is a student at University of Pennsylvania in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, studying computer science and business. She was a finalist in the Conrad Challenge in 2020 as a part of the Cyber-Tech and Security category. Her team was awarded the Power Pitch for their innovation, NeuroSecure, a system that leverages a user’s unique brain waves as a form of biometric authentication. She is involved with numerous STEM education organizations, with the goal of expanding the accessibility of technology and technology education. In her free time, Caroline enjoys reading, baking, and playing volleyball. 

Sonia Shah (Conrad 2020)

Sonia Shah is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill studying business with a minor in data science. She was a 2020 Conrad Challenge finalist under the Repurposed Farmlands and Tobacco Crops category where her team Nexkap took home the Power Pitch award for their tobacco seed oil-based skincare serum. Currently, her team has rebranded their Conrad innovation and is working on manufacturing the product and bringing it to market. In her free time, Sonia enjoys competing on UNC’s Raas team, watching new movies, and baking!

Arjun Jagannathan (Conrad 2021)

Arjun Jagannathan is a student at the University of Virginia intending to double major in Commerce and Applied Statistics. In 2021, he participated in the "Oceans: The Plastic Pollution Problem'' category. His team was selected as a finalist for their product Plastisearch, which leverages machine learning and computer vision to determine microplastic densities in bodies of water. Arjun is interested in investing in both public and private markets and plans on pursuing a career at the intersection of finance and data science. He enjoys playing sports, watching movies, and reading in his spare time. 

Kevin Zhang (Conrad 2021)

Kevin Zhang is a student at Northwestern University studying Industrial Engineering and Economics, with a concentration in Sustainability & Energy. Kevin is passionate about sustainability, entrepreneurship, tech, economics, and basketball. He was a Conrad ‘21 Finalist in Dell Sustainable Packaging, where his team won the Best Pitch award with his startup Dublo Solutions (sustainable company making plantable/biodegradable products from waste). Since then, he has co-founded two startups: ASOSHI (SaaS for Gen-Z cofounder matchmaking), and ArborDAO (decentralized autonomous organization for collective sustainable investments). He also co-founded SEED Club Foundation, a non-profit organization to promote sustainable entrepreneurship to high school students. Currently, Kevin is involving himself in blockchain technology and is learning to code by digging through YouTube and Buildspace tutorials. In his free time, he loves to go biking, play basketball, and karaoke with his friends. When he is by himself, Kevin enjoys binging YouTube vlogs and growing oyster mushrooms. Kevin loves getting to know people, so you can chat with him at @kevinzhangkjz on Twitter or at kevinzhang.kjz@gmail.com!

Ronnie Lee (Conrad 2021)

Ronnie Lee is a student studying Business Administration at Carnegie Mellon University. She competed in the Repurposing Tobacco and Farmlands category in the 2021 Conrad Challenge. With their idea, ToPADcco, a company that repurposed tobacco fibers and starch in making a biodegradable and absorbent menstrual pad, she and her teammate were named Pete Conrad Scholars. She learned to love and thrive in the worlds of business and science and hopes to explore that intersection through her studies in university and her career. In her free time, she rows for CMU’s rowing club, watches movies, and plays with her golden retriever, Noel. 

Aditya Dhingra (Conrad 2020)

Aditya Dhingra is a student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he is double majoring in the College of Engineering and the Ross School of Business. His 2020 Conrad project, the EcoAero Airlyft, won the title of Pete Conrad Scholar Team and continued to operate throughout many phases of testing. Aditya is passionate about impacting the community through STEM education, partnering with nonprofit organizations to help inspire children in undereducated regions to pursue a career in Technology or Engineering, a passion that earned him the title of FIRST Dean’s List Award semifinalist. Currently, he works as the CEO and founder of his sneaker reselling software corporation, SHOC LLC. In his free time, he likes to skateboard and play soccer.

Shrey Gupta (Conrad 2021)

Shrey Gupta is a student at the University of Texas at Austin majoring in computer science. In 2021, he participated in the “Oceans: The Plastic Problem'' category. His team was selected as a finalist in this category for the product Plastisearch–a software that leverages machine learning and computer vision to determine microplastic densities in water. Academically, he is interested in computer science and finance and participates in many clubs and organizations dedciated to these fields and their intersection. Additionally, he frequently watches TV shows, plays spikeball, and plays Valorant. 

Arjun Shah (Conrad 2020)

Arjun is currently a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying mechanical engineering. His Conrad Challenge team, EcoAero, built high efficiency modular drones featuring retractable wings for greater versatility, winning the Conrad Challenge in the Aerospace and Aviation category. He hopes to pursue a career in either the aerospace or automotive industries. In his free time, he likes  to build things, weightlift, play chess, and race drones. 

Lindsey Lee (Conrad 2020-21)

Lindsey Lee is a student at University of California Los Angeles studying Biochemistry after graduating from Saigon South International School in Vietnam. As a Co-Founder/Product Developer of team Jaynel, she made a finalist of Conrad 19-20 with the eco-friendly HVAC system filtration made out of coconut fiber and aloe vera gel - Cocovera filter. Advancing it into a wearable face mask, she won Pete Conrad Scholar for Oceans: the Plastic Pollution Problem category in the following year. During her time in Conrad, she has built the trust in the power of an innovative mindset that merges science and entrepreneurship. She is particularly excited about the biochemical technology that shapes the world into more sustainable and economical environments. Conrad Challenge also inspired her to become an educator for youngsters, and she led an educational organization Elevate the Future, which provides free education on computer science and business to middle school students for 3 years in high school. So far, she has co-founded 2 startups and one non-profit organization related to the environment and education. Her career as an educator is still continuing as a summer IB science tutor! Outside of the academic route, she is a dancer; she has done ballet, urban, hip-hop, Kpop, jive! She also loves fashion, makeup, and Pink Sweat$. 

Laalitya Acharya (Conrad 2022)

Laalitya is a student at Columbia University majoring in biomedical engineering and minoring in Political Science. Her Conrad Challenge Team, Ganges, was a novel method to detect microbial contamination in water through the analysis of microscopic images of water. Ganges was the first team in the history of the challenge to win both the Pete Conrad Award and the Power Pitch Award during the Conrad Summit 2022. She is passionate about changing the world through advocacy and is the founder of The Nereid Project - an organization that aims to reduce water inequity through research, activism and policy outreach. Her future goal is to work to intersect the fields of public policy and science together in order to create a more sustainable world. In her free time, Laalitya is a violinist, avid book reader and a runner! 

Akhil Jariwala (Conrad 2010)

Akhil is a product manager at Google. Previously, Akhil spent his career in electric vehicles, most recently working at ChargePoint, a global provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, where he managed data analytics and network interoperability on the business development team. Prior to ChargePoint, Akhil worked at PlugShare, the UC Davis Plug-in Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Research Center, and Sungevity. Akhil received his MBA from Stanford and graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2014 with a degree in Environmental Studies and attended high school at the NC School of Science and Mathematics. Akhil was a national finalist in the Conrad competition in 2010, when his team designed a latticed pod system that generated electricity from wave energy using internally-housed piezoelectric ceramics. For fun, Akhil performs competitively in the Bay Area salsa scene and enjoys indoor rock climbing in his free time.

Ankesh Madan (Conrad 2010)

Ankesh is a materials scientist, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist at Hitachi Ventures. Previously, he co-founded Undercover Colors, a startup that raised $12M+ from Mark Cuban and other investors to bring technologies to market that detect date rape drugs in drinks. Anku is now a recovering Ph.D. student that has since moved into venture capital, with stints at Plug and Play Ventures and in his current role at Hitachi Ventures, where he invests in industrial technologies spanning cybersecurity, manufacturing, energy, automotive, etc. He currently lives in Boston and spends his free time cycling, acquiring new hobbies, and bookstore hopping.

Ashley Turnage (Conrad 2020)

Ashley is a student attending Colorado School of Mines pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. She participated in the Conrad Challenge ‘20 in the “Health and Nutrition” category with PiezoPace, a sub-femoral piezoelectric transducer sleeve for motorized prosthetics. Her team has since published a research paper, and the device is patent-pending. Ashley is currently a student researcher at Mines in the Mines Single Molecule Biophysics Laboratory researching MMPs and drug delivery systems and works at the Mines McNeil Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to foster business in engineering and help fellow engineers protect their intellectual property. In her free time, Ashley enjoys singing, playing basketball, and spending time with her Pi Beta Phi sisters.

Antonio Stark (Conrad 2015)

Antonio is an international business consultant and a space policy consultant. He graduated with a degree in computer science and business, majoring in AI and Machine Learning and Enterprise Operations. During his four years in Minerva Schools at KGI, he lived in seven different countries.

Antonio currently works as the Asia-Pacific Regional Partnerships Manager for the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) which represents young professionals to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPOUS). He previously worked in various fields, including UN organizations like the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), startup accelerators and venture capitals like Softbank Ventures, 500 Startups, and T-Hub, and international conglomerates like Unilever.

Antonio specializes in aerospace policy, digital technologies and infrastructure, sustainable development, AI/ML algorithms, and event management.

Hans Rueckschnat (Conrad 2017)

Hans is a Double Major in Business and Mathematics at the University of Central Florida. He participated in the 2017 Conrad Challenge winning the Pete Conrad Scholar prize in the Cyber-Technology & Security Category. His project was the TIER Mini Black Box, a modular enclosure for high-performance computers, servers, electronics and custom hardware that allows for effective usage in difficult operating conditions and/or harsh environments. Hans specialized in CAD drafting, engineering simulation, and photorealistic rendering as well as advanced manufacturing and prototyping solutions. At FIU he participated in undergraduate engineering research at the RF-COM lab designing antenna testing equipment and custom actuators for expandable antennas. He was awarded a Sigma XI research society membership and Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum Blue membership. After studying database technologies, AI, and data science as a student he followed up as a Mathematical Computation student focusing on blockchain development on Cardano.