Hari Ganti participated in MSSEF in 2010 and 2011
In 2011, Hari Ganti took home the 3M Innovation Award at the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF). The judges didn’t know it then, but the inventiveness they commended in his project, Flying in the Future: Phase Two of Optimizing an Airfoil for Inviscid Airflow, would be pivotal in his future role as an engineer in an electric vehicle startup.
Hari’s post-high school life started by heading west after graduating from Wayzata High School, studying at Stanford University in both undergraduate and graduate school. With a M.S. in mechanical engineering, Hari is now employed by Lucid Motors, a startup specializing in luxury electric vehicles. As a Vehicle Integration Engineer in a fast-paced startup at the cutting-edge of the industry, Hari is involved in many aspects of the company’s work. His position requires constantly learning new skills and adapting to changing roles as Lucid advances their pioneering electric vehicles.
The experience of developing an innovative research project is just one of the ways that the MSSEF positively influenced Hari’s post-high school trajectory. “Participating in the science fairs really helped me to understand how academic research is conducted,” Hari says, explaining that the research experience he gained with his project mentor in science fair as a high schooler gave him a leg up when entering college, “I think that academic research seems like a mystery to most people, but especially to college freshman, who don't necessarily realize that they can be involved. Having gotten to work with a researcher before going to college, it helped me to find a lab and demonstrate my value to them.”
Thinking back to his high school experiences with regional, state and international science fairs, Hari remembers being sparked by curiosity upon encountering the wide variety of his peers’ research projects. “There were projects that surprised me, but mostly because they didn't immediately seem like something someone would look into,” Hari remembers, “after reading about their projects, you'd get a better sense of that person and why their project was important.”
Every year, over 500 Minnesota middle and high school students have similar experiences to Hari as they gain research skills and learn about the breadth of scientific possibilities through the MSSEF. Some may eventually join him in the world of startups in California or at home in Minnesota. Others may channel their experiences into a cornucopia of careers - health, education, art, and more. No matter what a student’s post-secondary path, the experience of conducting an intensive research project and the increased awareness of the multitude of scientific possibilities will influence them for decades.
