Meet Apoorva Panidapu, a 16-year-old philanthropic social entrepreneur, STE(A)M promoter, and a high-school sophomore from San Jose, California.
A talented student, aspiring mathematician, artist, writer, speaker, and advocate for youth, Apoorva began taking college classes at just 11 years old. She has since completed several graduate-level mathematics courses, with a particular knack for Number Theory. Apoorva has written and co-authored for notable publications with an ongoing interest in peer-reviewed scientific research, including the Journal of Number Theory, working alongside distinguished mathematicians.
In 2020 and summer 2021, Apoorva was selected to attend the prestigious University of Virginia's REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates), as its youngest student. In 2018/2019, Apoorva attended the Canada/USA immersive summer experience for mathematically talented students, known as Mathcamp.
In 2018, Apoorva also made her television debut performing on NBC's show Genius Junior, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, MD). Apoorva was chosen as a World Science Scholar and Spirit of Ramanujan Fellow (Templeton World Charity Foundation). She is also a 2020 Global Child Prodigy Award winner.
With hobbies including painting, playing the violin, reading classic literature, and practicing Kung Fu, Apoorva is no ordinary mathematician. An enthusiastic artist who loves to sketch portraits and paint in oil, Apoorva founded Panidapu's Art Gallery—an online art platform committed to charity funding. Artists for Peace, Stone Soup, and Ellen's "One Million Acts of Good" have featured Apoorva's paintings. She was the 2017 grand prize winner of the NASA Langley Student Art Contest and has four Presidential Volunteer Service Awards.
Beyond her love of mathematics and art, Apoorva is an energetic advocate and speaker who mentors and encourages girls, gender minorities, and youth to pursue STEAM fearlessly. Driven to make a difference, Apoorva is an ambassador for GLAM (Girls Leadership Academy Meetup) with a commitment to helping girls pursue careers and leadership positions in tech. Using her talents in Maths and Art, Apoorva has raised more than $25,000 for Save the Children, VT Seva (Visually Challenged Children in India), BEAM, Black Lives Matter movements, and more.
Apoorva also co-founded the Gems in STEM initiative, which seeks to educate through shared stories of diverse figures in STEM history. She publishes bi-weekly articles for the Evergreen Times and Cantor's Paradise—the #1 math publication on Medium, and holds national and state awards for her writing and speaking.
With a fundamental belief in human rights, Apoorva aspires to combine her love for mathematics, art, and humanities to do good in the world while supporting girls from all backgrounds to overcome gender bias in STEM.
