About the Frugal Science Academy

Scientific tools are both an enabler and an impediment.

Access to hardware often determines who can or cannot participate in scientific experimentation. The Frugal Science Academy bridges this gap by supporting high school students and educators to create, build, and test frugal tools for science education and global health.

We are currently seeking tinkerers who are excited by the challenge of developing novel solutions within the constraints of limited resources. Inspiration comes from being curious and investigating everyday items to harness physical properties. We seek students and teachers to participate in on-going frugal science opportunities.

Saad Bhamla

Meet The Team

Saad Bhamla studies biomechanics across species to engineer knowledge and tools that inspire curiosity.

Saad Bhamla is an assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at Georgia Tech. A self-proclaimed "tinkerer," his lab is a trove of discoveries and inventions that span biology, physics and engineering. His current projects include studying the hydrodynamics of insect urine, worm blob locomotion and ultra-low-cost devices for global health. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Economist, CNN, Wired, NPR, the Wall Street Journal and more.

Janet Standeven

Janet Standeven oversees and coordinates the Frugal Science Academy, to empower the next generation of engineers, inventors, and change makers.

As a former high school educator she recruits and manages interns and teacher training initiatives to increase synthetic biology education and accessibility in public health initiatives. She’s a former Georgia Biotechnology Teacher of the Year, and award winning International Genetically Engineered Competition (iGEM) advisor.

Our FSA mentors monitor and assist the interns with their projects. When asked what it was like to be a FSA mentor, the following response was procured:

“Being a FSA mentor allows me to not only aid the interns in developing incredible projects and incorporating proper practice into their studies, but it provides me the opportunity to foster deep connections with some of the future’s greatest minds, whom I actually learn quite a lot from.”

Meet the Team

Rajas Poorna

RESEARCH ADVISOR
Rajas is a big fan of low-tech, and is working on low-cost methods to enable diagnostic tests at the point of care that use no reagents.

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Summer Interns 2024

MAKERS
Our Summer Interns: Heesuh (Christina) C, Aria I, Avani K, Matthew M, Nicholas L, Sahasra T, Neerav S, Jay L, and Levi P

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Lab Technicians 2024

Top Row: Charles Anderson, Halley Wallace, and Daeun Lee
Bottom Row: Eric Samelo and Guy Difini

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Charles Anderson

MAKER
An Undergraduate who studies frugal design of biomedical devices.

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Priya Soneji

MAKER
An Undergraduate who innovates low-cost optical devices.

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Michelle Jing

Intern Spring 2024
Hi there! My name is Michelle- or if you’re into synbio puns, Migelle. I’m a ChBE major interested in biotech and bioart. When I’m not in the lab, you can find me playing with my cat, crocheting cute plushies, or consuming immense amounts of matcha.

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Daeun Lee

Intern Spring 2024
Hi, I’m Daeun (I also go by Esther). I am working on CRISPR interference in cell-free systems and helping develop educational modules to bring this technology into classroom settings.

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Akshaya Poonepalle

Intern Spring 2024
Hi, I'm Akshaya. I'm an undergraduate at Georgia Tech, and I am currently working on designing low-cost educational modules using OpenCell (a frugal bead homogenizer, microcentrifuge, and vortex).

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Alumni

Previous Frugal Science Academy Interns
Summer 2023: Vineeth S, Avi K, Aditya L, Manasvi G, Natalie T, Alina S, Annika J, and Arjun S

Frugal Science Academy

If you are a student interested in applying for the Frugal Science Academy High School Scholars Program: Please Note that the Application deadline for Summer 2024 Internships is closed. Check back July 15 for the application for the Fall Semester, 2024