Describe your academic interests and how you plan to pursue them at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections (250 word limit).
My uncle, like many in rural India, suffers from arsenicosis due to groundwater contamination. I want to help people like him gain access to clean ground water by improving waste management systems and turning waste into a benefit. Through USC, I want to create self sustaining systems in developing nations and create an entrepreneurial infrastructure that scales sustainable technology development.
By engaging in USC’s global fellow internship program, I want to learn more about environmental and energy issues in polluted areas and their effects on the daily lives of citizens. During this time, I can work with NGOs like Aid to Southeast Asia to understand the influence of eutrophication and algal blooms, resulting from toxic waste disposal in lakes, on the commercial water supply and marine biodiversity. Using this insight, I can work on creating an infrastructure that focuses on the development of waste management programs to reduce the impact of environmental health
Although I am fascinated by the potential of research projects, it is often difficult to make these projects accessible to the general public. Through USC’s startup garage, I can get access to a mentorship network with experienced entrepreneurs like Jeff Stebel and learn more about commercializing research focusing on the direct gasification of biomass in hydrogen fuel cell technology. My goal is to introduce this waste management technology into emerging economies like India to reduce groundwater contamination and optimize energy production. This technology can help rural farmers earn money for efficient waste disposal, fueling local economic growth and increasing their disposable income.