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Saket Dannana
Innovator & High-Impact Researcher

Saket Dannana — Innovator, Engineer & Researcher

Bridging hardware, e-textiles, computer vision, AI, and environmental sustainability to solve high-stakes real-world problems.

Unweighted GPA
3.98
SAT Score
1550
Blue Ocean
Top 100 Global
MIT BWSI
E-Textiles
saket_core_portfolio.v2026

MIT BWSI RemGlove

Haptic feedback e-textile glove with 3-DOF robotic arm & MATLAB computer vision.

PomPad Venture

Olive waste spoilage sensor. 1,000+ lbs food saved across 160+ families & grocery pilots.

Yale & Cornell Research

Lightning NOx fixation modeling + ForestConnect land-intelligence platform.

Frisco, TX Lebanon Trail High '27

Core Expertise & Domains

Pioneering Engineering at the Intersection of Systems

Combining hands-on hardware design, signal processing, machine learning, and environmental policy to invent real-world solutions.

E-Textiles & Wearables

Engineered RemGlove at MIT BWSI: wearable e-textiles with conductive thread, piezoresistive feedback sensors, and computer vision gesture tracking.

MATLAB Circuitry Sensors

Bio-Sensors & CleanTech

Co-founded PomPad using repurposed olive waste and carbon nanotube sensors to monitor spoilage, diverting 1,000+ lbs food waste across retail pilots.

pH Sensors Olive-Waste NFC Tag

Atmospheric Research

Researched with Yale University on lightning flash dynamics & nitrogen fixation to model zero-input agricultural ecosystems for degraded soils.

Python Data Science NOx Fixation

Software Engineering

Employed application developer for Cornell University ForestConnect, engineering an AI-integrated web library indexing 75+ forestry publications.

Web APIs Full-Stack Search AI

The Narrative Journey

Curiosity, Tinkering & Civic Impact

From watching party leftovers turn to waste as a child to building bio-hardware and AI models at MIT, Yale, and Cornell, my obsession has always been system repair—turning broken mechanics and discarded trash into elegant engineering solutions.

A 2nd-degree karate black belt, instructor, classical piano enthusiast, and former short film director, I believe true innovation happens when hands-on tinkering meets deep technical rigors and public service.

Saket's Core Mission & Values

  • Fight hunger & eliminate food waste via smart bio-sensing
  • Develop clean water filtration & stormwater pollution mitigation
  • Repurpose everyday waste into renewable energy & compost
  • Democratize hands-on STEM education for local youth

Vision 2030

Educate 100,000 students annually through AI/Robotics STEM camps, engineer 100,000-gallon drinkable water solutions, and launch AI-driven recycling systems.

Milestone Timeline & Growth

Age 5 – 10 Foundation

Martial Arts, Piano & Early Invention Attempts

Started Karate at age 5 (earned 1st Degree Black Belt at 11, 2nd Degree at 16). First kitchen-table experiments in composting and homemade solar chargers.

Age 14 – 16 Leadership & Public Policy

Short Film Director, BPA, DECA & Mass. Senate Intern

Wrote and filmed local short scripts. Served as Legislative Intern for Mass. State Senator Paul Mark (delivering Senate floor speech) & Associate Justice at Texas Boys State.

Age 17 (2026) High-Impact Research

MIT BWSI, Yale Research & Cornell Application Dev

Engineered RemGlove at MIT Beaver Works. Modeled atmospheric lightning fixation with Yale. Employed developer for Cornell University ForestConnect platform.

Community & Future Ongoing

Community Solar Robotics & Martial Arts Instructor

Founder of free library solar robotics workshops teaching 25+ youth. USA Martial Arts Assistant Instructor teaching 200+ kids including students with special needs.

Portfolio Showcase

Featured Projects & Breakthroughs

Co-Founder & Dev Lead 2024 – Present

PomPad — Olive Waste Spoilage Sensor

Compostable, color-changing adhesive spoilage pad created from repurposed olive waste combined with a carbon nanotube sensor and NFC tag for smart food freshness tracking.

  • Diverted 1,000+ lbs of food waste across 160+ families.
  • Retail pilots at Ranch 99 and Om Produce Asian markets.
  • SAGE World Cup USA Top 3 & Texas A&M Ideas Challenge Finalist.
CleanTech IoT Bio-Materials
Details
MIT Beaver Works Summer Inst. Summer 2026

RemGlove — Haptic E-Textile Robotic Hand

3-DOF robotic hand combining tendon-driven servo actuation, MATLAB computer vision tracking (21 hand landmarks), and conductive-thread e-textile sensors for closed-loop haptic feedback.

  • Achieved 33.8 ms end-to-end latency & 84% grasp success rate.
  • Presented to MIT Lincoln Lab & AFFOA researchers.
  • Co-authored paper shared on ResearchGate for bomb disposal/remote ops.
Robotics MATLAB E-Textiles
Details
Cornell University Employment 2025 – Present

Cornell Forestry Web Platform

AI-integrated land-intelligence web platform for Cornell Cooperative Extension / ForestConnect, helping NY landowners activate and monetize unused forestry acreage.

  • Indexed and standardized 75+ forestry research publications.
  • Collaborated with Cornell specialist Peter J. Smallidge.
  • Preparing for integration with NY State Government portals.
Full-Stack Search AI API
Details
Yale University Research 2026 – Present

Yale Electrical Discharge NOx Modeling

Atmospheric lightning flash dynamics and NOx nitrogen fixation research under Dr. Maya Almaraz, creating mathematical models for zero-input agricultural soil enrichment.

  • Analyzed 390+ lightning voltage/current discharge waveforms.
  • Synthesized dataset across 12 atmospheric chemistry studies.
  • Manuscript in publication preparation.
Climate AI Data Science Modeling
Details

Academic Distinction

Academics, Test Scores & Honors

Lebanon Trail High School | Expected Graduation: May 2027

3.98
Unweighted GPA
Weighted: 5.277 / 6.0
16 / 562
Class Rank
Top 2.8% of Class
1550
SAT Composite
Math: 790 | Reading: 760
10+ APs
AP 5s & 4s
AP Capstone Diploma

National & International Honors

Competitive Recognition
SAGE Global Entrepreneurship World Cup

USA Top 3 Finalist representing the United States internationally in Hanoi, Vietnam for PomPad.

USA Top 3
Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneurship Competition

Ranked Top 100 Globally among 23,000+ students across 173 countries.

Top 100 Global
American Mathematics Competition (AMC) & AIME

AMC Top 5% scorer & American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) Qualifier.

AIME Qualifier
World Economics Cup (WEC) & NEC

Continental Top 10 (North America), Gold Team Award, and 8th in Texas for National Economics Challenge.

Continental Top 10
Texas A&M University High School Ideas Challenge

Selected as Finalist out of 450+ competing teams (Top 9%) presenting PomPad before investors.

Finalist
Business Professionals of America (BPA)

4x State Qualifier in Podcast Production & Banking/Finance. Statesman Torch Award Recipient.

4x State Qualifier

Get In Touch

Let's Collaborate & Innovate

Open to academic collaborations, engineering inquiries, research partnerships, and keynote speaking opportunities.

Email Address
saketsaket1089@gmail.com
Phone
469-514-4259
Location
Frisco, Texas, USA

Send Saket a Message

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© 2026 Saket Dannana. All rights reserved.