Pani (Water) Purification

When first visiting my father’s home country of Bangladesh I saw how difficult it was for many to access clean drinking water. This drove me to analyze drinking water samples from around the country, and design a purification system to address the root causes. Ultimately I created a <$25, solar-powered, easily-maintainable, UVc water purification system that I deployed in daycares for homeless children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

This 3 year research project (2010-2013) led to my recognition as 1 of 5 international Google Science Fair Finalists and 1 of 13 international Scientific American Science in Action Finalists. I also spoke about my work on NPR's Science Friday, PBS's Newshour Special, HBO's Showtime, Google's Google+ Broadcast, and the California Academy of Sciences.

Synchronized Swimming

I was a competitive synchronized swimmer for almost a decade and won the U.S. National Gold (2008), U.S. National Silver (2007), and California State Games Gold (2010) medals. In the picture to the left, I'm the one in the middle whose back is arched ~90°.