Aakanksha Saxena

Influence of substrate temperature on properties of pyrite thin films deposited using a sequential coevaporation technique

Thin Solid Films · Jan 1, 2019

STEM Competitions

1. Arizona State Math Contest (2016), State: I ranked in the top 10% in the highest division. 2. Science Olympiad (2016), State: I received 1st place in Green Generation and 2nd place in Cell Biology. 3. Science Olympiad State Champion & National Qualifier (2015), National/State: I led my team to nationals for the first time in school history. At state level, I received 1st place in Technical Problem Solving and 3rd place in Cell Biology. 4. Scottsdale Community College Mathematics Competition First Place (2014), Regional: I won 1st place among 200 contestants. 5. MATHCOUNTS (2013), State: My team ranked 5th.

Carbon Footprint Research Awards

1. Google Science Fair Local Award (2014), International: "Quantifying the Carbon Footprint of Academic Institutions to Address Systemic Inefficiencies" ranked among the top 115 research projects in the world. 2. Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair (2014), State: "Quantifying the Carbon Footprint of Academic Institutions to Address Systemic Inefficiencies" won 2nd place in Environmental Science, the Governor's Future Innovator of the Year Nominee Award, and the ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Award. 3. Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair (2013), State: "School Carbon Footprint and Improvement Opportunities" won 1st place in Environmental Science, the United States Naval Science Award, the Association for Women Geoscientist Student Award, the Association for Women in Science Outstanding Female Scientist Award, and Broadcom MASTERS Nomination.

Non-STEM Awards

1. National Merit Finalist (2017), National: I was ranked among the top 1% of high school students on the basis of my standardized test scores. 2. Coca Cola Scholar (2017), National: I was selected as one of the top 150 community service leaders in the country. 3. National AP Scholar Award (2016), National: Along with being an IB student, I have taken 10 APs with 9 5s. 4. MIT Launch 2nd Place, International (2016): I was the CEO of Literacy Spree, the 2nd place team in the MIT Launch Club Program. 5. Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Key Winner (2016), State: I won the Silver Key for my critical journalistic entry, I’ll Buy One America, Please. 6. Prudential Spirit of the Community Award (2015), School: I was Desert Mountain High School’s Prudential Spirit of the Community Nominee for founding Literacy Spree, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with the mission of empowering underprivileged female students in developing countries through education. 7. Congressional Award Gold Medalist (2015), National: The United States of America Congress recognized me for demonstrating excellence in community service, personal development, and athletics. I was the only high school student selected from Arizona. I committed over 1000 hours to community service, 500 hours to personal development, 250 hours to athletics, and organized a four-day personal exploration of north India to better understand my heritage. 8. Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Key Winner and Silver Key Winner (2015), State: I won the Gold Key for my science fiction piece The Seventy Sixth Coronation and the Silver Key for my political satire An Email from Mark Zuckerberg. 9. MIT Launch Finalist (2015), International: My sustainability startup at MIT Launch was ranked among the top 5 companies created at the program. 10. Scholastic Art and Writing Bronze Key (2014), State: I won the Bronze Key for my science fiction piece, The 11th Avenue Cemetery.

Solar Panel Optimization Research Awards

1. Regeneron STS Top 300 Scholar (2017), National - "The Influence of Contaminants and Secondary Phases on the Optical Properties of FeS2, a New Candidate for Photovoltaic Cells” was ranked among the top 300 science research projects in the nation. This work also won the “Research Report” award and “Student Initiative” award. 2. Arizona Future Innovator of the Year (2016), State - Selected by the governor as one of the top 4 high school innovators in the state. 3. Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (2016), State: "Detection of Secondary Phases in Iron Pyrite (FeS2) Thin Films" ranked 1st in Physical Energy and was nominated for Future Innovator of the Year. 4. Arizona Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (2016), State: "Influence of Contaminants on the Optical Properties of FeS2, a New Candidate for Photovoltaic Cells" ranked 4th and qualified for the national tournament. 5. Google Science Fair Regional Finalist (2015), International: "Influence of Contaminants on the Optical Properties of FeS2, a New Candidate for Photovoltaic Cells" ranked among the top 90 projects in the world. 6. Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair (2015), State: "Influence of Contaminants on the Optical Properties of FeS2, a New Candidate for Photovoltaic Cells" won the Association for Women in Science Outstanding Female Scientist Award.