Akshaya Venkatesh, a STEM student from BASIS Scottsdale, has been named one of the top young scientists in the country by being named among the 30 finalists in the eighth annual Broadcom MASTERS, the nation’s premier science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) middle school competition. 

She was scheduled to compete Oct. 19-23 in Washington, D.C., for more than $100,000 in awards after creating a mobile application that minimizes food waste. It lets users list the type of produce they have, their locations, and other pertinent information so local food organization can see where the donations are available and send someone to pick them up.

Finalists in the competition participate in a competition that leverages project-based learning to test and demonstrate their mastery of 21st century skills of critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration in each of the STEM areas.