Yash Samat

Yash Samat is a junior at Mountain Lakes High School (MLHS). During 2021, he published the results of two bioinformatics research projects on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. As a volunteer firefighter and the Secretary of the MLHS Key Club, he is very interested in community service. Yash incorporated STEM into this interest by teaching middle and high school students Python programming in association with the North South Foundation. He also earned the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 41 of Mountain Lakes, NJ. His Eagle Scout Project focused on environmental engineering as he designed and led a team of scouts to build artificial fish habitats, which were placed in two lakes in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. The habitats help the ecosystem by providing a safe environment for fish to nurse. In turn, this would keep the lakes cleaner by naturally reducing the number of algae instead of using chemical treatment. The MIT Think program also recognized him as a semifinalist for a project proposal in extension to his fish habitat project. Yash aspires to pursue a career in aeronautical engineering and information systems while continuing his passion for community service.