Prisha’s journey toward developing an inventive mindset began at Basha Accelerated Middle School in Chandler, Arizona. Her innovative idea brought her accolades at the Society for Science’s Broadcom MASTERS (now known as the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge), the country’s premier middle-school STEM competition. And in 2021, Prisha received the Lemelson Award for Invention, which recognizes competition finalists working on promising solutions to real-world problems.
The list of honors and rewards she’s received since is extensive and ever growing, from an Intel Innovator Award in 2019 to the NOAA Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award in 2022, the Naval Science Award in 2024, and being named a Regneron Science Talent Search Scholar in 2025, to name just a few. Prisha is currently studying computer science at Stanford University with a focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. She’s a member of the Stanford Sustainable Investment Group as a Climate VC Analyst, as well as a teaching assistant, sharing her love of STEM with other students.
She has continued to develop her AI-powered fire-combatting system to add drones to the data, which includes temperature, wind, precipitation, and soil moisture. Her system boasts a 98.6% accuracy rate for estimating the likelihood of wildfires. Prisha has also gone on to help develop other solutions to improve lives, including a personalized blood glucose-level predictor and a low-cost water purification system. To boot, she’s an avid advocate for STEM education, particularly in underserved communities.
Back in 2021, we interviewed Prisha to get a window into this bright inventive mind.
What started you down the path of STEM and invention?
For me, there are two things. My mom gave me an Arduino board when I was younger, and I was like, “How does it work? How can this small computer somehow tell the clock what time it is?” That was when I realized the power of asking questions.
After that, I went to a project-based elementary school, where they introduced us to the scientific method and the engineering design process. We built golf courses, we had a shark tank, a Maker Faire, all of that kind of stuff. These were all stepping stones to getting to where I am today.
What is your invention, and how does it work?
I created an AI-based wildfire prevention, detection, and suppression system that uses satellite and meteorological data from NASA and NOAA to predict hotspots — areas where wildfires can occur in the future. It also detects active wildfires. And I’m working on a feature that sends a drone to that location to spray fire retardant so we can prevent and suppress fires.
Prisha Shroff, winner of the Lemelson Award for Invention (Broadcom MASTERS 2021)
What’s your vision of an inventor?
My definition of an inventor is somebody who likes to create new things, to solve problems, or to solve something that they see in their everyday life.
I think that you can still be an inventor even if you create a catapult out of popsicle sticks. That’s inventing, and so is creating a wildfire prevention system. It’s all creating something new.
What difference do you hope to make in the world?
First, by creating solutions to solve different problems that we see. Second, I really want to help with climate change and global warming because that’s a big part of our world today and a big problem. This is our planet; we should take care of it. I also want to change the world and make it a better place by giving opportunities to kids who don’t get the same opportunities that I get, in terms of education and resources.
What does a great teacher or mentor mean to you?
They mean a lot to me because to create a project like this, you really need supporters and people that help you along the way. If something doesn’t work and you feel like giving up, they’re there to help you keep going. And that’s really important, especially when you’re younger, trying to create a solution to a big problem.
What do you say to young people who aspire to be an inventor?
My motto is: Be curious, dream big, and never give up. Don’t just hope something happens — strive to make it happen. And if you live by that every single day, you can definitely make an impact. Also, you don’t need to change the whole world, but you can still change someone’s whole world. And I think that if everyone changes someone’s whole world, then we can really change the entire world.
Panelist Prisha Shroff’s message at United Nations (UN) SDG Summit