Brothers Rishi Ray, senior, and Arjun Ray, sophomore, have turned their passion for science into projects that solve real-world problems.

“I did a lot of science projects over the course of last year about the environment,” Rishi said. “I developed drought-resistant seeds to help grow crops for farmers in places with bad weather, and I helped protect bees by conserving their habitats. I planted trees in many parks and forests around our community.”

In October, Rishi and Arjun received the Blue Planet Green Challenge award from Chesterfield mayor Bob Nation. Their work has also been recognized by NASA, the American Chemical Society and other organizations, Rishi said. 

While Rishi and Arjun mostly operate within the St. Louis area, on occasion, their work has taken them outside of the city and even the country.

“A couple years ago, we went to India and visited different schools,” Arjun said. “We started a fundraiser to help them build clean water stations and get clean water into their schools. I think it was just seeing it in person, just saw all of the terrible conditions they were in, and how underfunded they were, that inspired me to keep working on these projects.”

Both of the brothers plan to continue with science in college and beyond. Rishi plans on majoring in biology in college and Arjun plans on a science field as well.

“I hope to take what I learn from everything I learned here [to college],” Rishi said.