Episode Overview

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In this episode of AZ TechCast, hosts Steve Zylstra and Eric Miller sit down with some remarkable students recently named winners and honorable mentions in the Council’s 2025 Future Innovators of the Year awards. These students will be honored at the Council’s upcoming Governor’s Celebration of Innovation in November. These young STEM leaders— Shireen Arora, Elias Chang, Akshay Karthik, Ananya Lakkaraju, Siyaa Poddar and Ganeshsai Talluri —will discuss their innovative projects, their passions and their aspirations for the future. Also joining the conversation is Amber Struthers, our 2025 Teacher of the Year. Finally, Kevin Kilzer, past president of ACESA (Arizona Council of Engineering and Scientific Associations) will join the conversation to highlight the importance of education, workforce development and celebrating Arizona’s brightest STEM talents.

2025 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Future Innovator Award Winning Students:

• Siyaa Poddar, Grade 12, Arizona College Prep High School (Chandler)
  Project: Developing a Rapid, Colorimetric Metal Organic Framework for Airborne Silica and Uranium Detection: A Novel Approach to Pollutant Monitoring and Health Risk Assessment in Indigenous Communities for Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Shireen Arora, Grade 9, BASIS Chandler
  Project: The Efficacy of Consumption of Ashwagandha on Mitigation of Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology: A Drosophila melanogaster Model
• Elias Chang, Grade 12, BASIS Mesa
  Project: From 2D to 3D: Enhancing Lung Nodule Segmentation in Computed Tomography Scans with Anatomy-Based Self-Supervised Learning
• Ananya Lakkaraju, Grade 10, Hamilton High School (Chandler)
  Project: A Novel Machine Learning Method and Drug for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression

2025 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Future Innovator Honorable Mention Students:

• Akshay Karthik, Grade 11, Hamilton High School
  Project: THETA: Triangulated Hand-State Estimation for Teleoperation and Automation in Robotic Hand Control
• Ganeshsai Talluri, Grade 12, BASIS Peoria
  Project: A Novel Multi-Omics Deep Learning Framework for Spatiotemporal Cerebral Cortex Localization and Expression

Teacher of the Year Award Winner

• Amber Struthers, Tempe High School & Corona del Sol High School (Tempe)

Industry Expert:

• Arizona Council of Engineering and Scientific Associations (ACESA) – Award Partner/Facilitator
  • Kevin Kilzer, Past President

Shireen Arora Grade 9, BASIS Chandler

Elias Chang Grade 12, BASIS Mesa

Akshay Karthik Grade 11, Hamilton High School

Ananya Lakkaraju Grade 10, Hamilton High School

Siyaa Poddar Grade 12, Arizona College Prep High School (Chandler)

Ganeshsai Talluri Grade 12, BASIS Peoria

Amber Struthers Tempe High School & Corona del Sol High School (Tempe)

Kevin Kilzer Past President Arizona Council of Engineering and Scientific Associations (ACESA)

About AZTechCast
The official podcast of the Arizona Technology Council, AZTechCast is dedicated to covering innovation and technology in Arizona and beyond. Through the art of the connected conversation, AZ TechCast’s hosts and guests share success stories, tech news and analysis about the region’s leading startups, companies and emerging technologies, as well as the latest industry trends and critical issues propelling Arizona’s growing technology ecosystem. Visit www.aztechcouncil.org/techcast to learn more or to listen to recent episodes.

About PADT, Inc.
Phoenix Analysis and Design Technologies, Inc. (PADT) is an engineering product and services company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical products by providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D Printing solutions. The company is an Ansys Elite Channel Partner and a Stratasys Platinum Partner. They are also a channel partner for Flownex, EOS, and ZEISS #handsonmetrology. PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and experienced staff is based on its proven record of building long-term win-win partnerships with vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies have relied on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 90 employees, PADT services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University Research Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California, Lakewood, Colorado, and Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as through staff members located around the country. More information on PADT can be found at www.PADTINC.com.

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