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Tanay Jagannathan

Tanay Jagannathan

Tanay Jagannathan headshot

Tanay Jagannathan is from Dubai, UAE. At Columbia, he plans to pursue computer science.

In high-school he worked on developing intersectional approaches to combatting climate change that combined multiple STEM fields to deal with climate change. His first project was a drone-based carbon-capture system he came up with in the eighth grade. After obtaining special permissions required to experiment at an external lab during the pandemic, he published a paper in Harvard GSAS’ Journal of Emerging Investigators. This project also won him the HSBC NextGen10 award and $7000 from HSBC. In collaboration with a UAE-based startup, he filed a patent for the idea, which is currently patent-pending in the US and the UAE. His paper also received citations from researchers at IMT Atlantique, Curtin University and North Carolina State University for being one of the first papers to look into carbon capture at low concentrations.

He later developed SOLIS, an automated dynamic lighting control system, which was estimated to lead to savings of $5.9 Billion per year if implemented globally, apart from considerably
reducing the energy consumption of lighting. Publishing these results in the Journal of Emerging Investigators, he began developing a PCB for the project. He also founded a startup in the UAE for the distribution of these PCBs. This project was presented at multiple tech expos in the UAE, including GITEX, the world’s largest tech and startup expo.

Passionate about sharing his knowledge, Tanay also founded UAE RoboClub in the eighthgrade. Focusing on free, practical STEM education, RoboClub is a student-led organization that works in collaboration with six NGOs and students from 50 countries globally. Tanay also received the Princess Diana Award for his work on UAE RoboClub and contribution to youth-led
social service.

Apart from STEM, Tanay is also an avid debater, representing the UAE at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) in 2024 and setting the national record for the UAE’s best performance at the WSDC of eighth place globally.

At Columbia, he looks to take his existing projects further, while continuing to use his engineering and research skills to develop projects and discover knowledge that empower humanity.