Maya Varma is a sophomore at Stanford University. She completed her first science fair project, "How do Magnets Work?" when she was five years old. At that young age, she was introduced to the ideas of experimentation, failure, re-design, and occasionally, the priceless reward of seeing her projects actually work. After experiencing the thrill of discovery and innovation, there was no turning back.

 

Since 6th grade, Maya has competed annually at her county science fair, and her projects have been recognized at the state, national, and international levels. She is the first place winner from the 2016 Intel STS competition, and her work was recognized by President Obama in his address at the 2016 White House Science Fair. She holds a U.S. patent (#9035797) on a system she designed to alert distracted drivers of an impending change in the state of a traffic signal. 

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Currently, Maya works as a research intern at the Stanford University Medical School.