Hello, I’m
Avi Gupta
Jeopardy! Champion
Columbia Student
Researcher
Social entrepreneur
About Me
I am a freshman at Columbia University with a passion for science, social entrepreneurship, and activism. I founded and lead Project32, a student-run social startup that leverages the power of education and community engagement to tackle dental disease in youth. Since its inception in 2016, Project32 has provided thousands of dental hygiene kits to children in the U.S., India, Guatemala, and Haiti. My research on vascular disease and designing artificial blood vessels has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences.
In my free time, I love to play basketball, chess and watch (and compete in) Jeopardy! As one of fifteen teens selected from a pool of tens of thousands of entrants, I competed on the 2019 Jeopardy Teen Tournament. After winning my quarterfinal, semifinal, and both rounds of the two-day final, I was crowned the Champion! In Fall 2019, I moved to New York to pursue an undergraduate degree at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science as an Egleston Scholar, the highest designation offered to incoming students. While I am still undecided, as of now I plan to study computer science with a specialization in artificial intelligence.
Research
Overview
I studied cardiovascular disease pathophysiology and artificial blood vessel design in the Lindner and Hinds Labs at Oregon Health and Sciences University. My work in the Lindner Lab focused on novel imaging and image processing techniques to non-invasively quantify blood flow variability in patients with peripheral arterial disease. My work in the Hinds Lab focused on novel techniques for assessing the thrombogenicity of artificial blood vessels, with the ultimate goal of developing new, safer biomaterials for use in humans.
Manuscripts
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Published Manuscript- Journal of American Society of Echocardiography |
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| BP Davidson, A Gupta, JR Lindner et al. “Limb Perfusion During Exercise Assessed by Contrast Ultrasound Varies According to Symptom Severity in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease”. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2019.05.001 | |
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Manuscript submission January 2020 |
| A Gupta*, C Johnston*, M Hinds, DE Anderson. “Quantifying Physical Characteristics of Thrombus Formation on Cardiovascular Biomaterials using MicroCT”. Submitted to Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods. Manuscript under review. | |
Abstracts
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Oral Presentation, Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting (April 2019) |
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| DE Anderson, A Gupta, MT Hinds. “Correlating Thrombus Constituents of Surface-Modified Vascular Graft Materials to Luminal Volume using MicroCT to Better Quantify Clinical Functionality”. Oral presentation Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting (April 2019). | |
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Presentation at BMES Annual Meeting (October 2018) |
| A Gupta, DE Anderson, E Yim, MT Hinds. “Development of MicroCT Techniques for Quantifying Thrombus Formation on Cardiovascular Biomaterials”. BMES Annual Meeting (October 2018) | |
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Presentation at BMES Annual Meeting (October 2018) |
| DE Anderson, A Gupta, EK Yim, MT Hinds. “Assessing vascular graft technologies by correlating luminal volume to platelets using MicroCT”. BMES Annual Meeting (October 2018) | |
Project32
Overview
I founded Project32 in 2016 with a mission to eradicate dental disease by providing underprivileged communities with access to dental hygiene products. We partner with local dentists, urban homeless shelters, and global nonprofits to spread dental resources to youth worldwide and to homeless populations in the United States. Project32 is rapidly expanding with active student leadership and the recent formation of partnerships with Virginia Garcia and Medical Teams International.
Watch: How it all started
Watch: Everyday Heroes segment on ABC KATU Channel 2 News 
Watch: Interview on NBC KGW Channel 8 News 
Read: Latest updates from the Project32 team!
Donate to Project32
On Armando Puentes on KBOO FM Community Radio, talking Project32. Listen to the radio interview.
Awards and Honors
Civic Engagement Awards
- One of ten national recipients, 2019 AXA Achievement Scholarship
- Recipient, Daily Point of Light Service Award for outstanding service work with Project32. This award was established by the late President George H.W. Bush during his presidency and recognizes extraordinary volunteers who are donating their time and talent to better their communities. Listen to President Obama talking about the award here.
- Recipient, 2019 Al Tauscher Teen Recognition Award, Multnomah Athletic Foundation for teamwork, exceptional leadership, and community service.
- Finalist, 2019 Bryan Cameron Impact Scholarship
- Semifinalist, 2019 Coca-Cola Scholars Program
Science and Academic Awards
- Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) finalist (May 2019). 1st place, Bioengineering and Materials, at the 2019 Regional Intel Northwest Science Expo (NWSE), selected to advance directly to ISEF international competition in Phoenix, AZ in May 2019 with full travel scholarship
- Winner, Regional Science Bowl part of Catlin Gabel team, invited by U.S. Dept. of Energy to National Science Bowl (Washington DC, April 2019) with full travel scholarship. (Read Portland Tribune Article )
- Semifinalist, 2019 Junior Science & Humanities Symposium State Competition (sponsored by Dept. of Defense), invited (with full travel scholarship) to the national competition in May 2019.
- National AP Scholar
- Finalist, National Merit Scholarship
Robotics
- Captain of Team Quantum
- Regional competition: Champion’s award (1st place), 1st place robot performance.
- State competition: Champion’s award (1st place), 1st place robot performance. Selected as one of two Oregon teams (out of > 400) to advance to FLL World Festival (first team in school history).
- FLL World Festival: Global Innovation Award for Q-Gown (2015) (Watch ABC KATU News story about our work)
Extracurricular Awards
- Co-captain, Catlin Gabel Chess Team, Oregon High School Team Champions (2017, 2018, 2019)
- 2-time, Utah State Chess Champion for age group (2007-2008)
- Start-up PDX, Founder and CEO of Grand Prize Winning Team, Clear Park (Read Portland Business Journal Article)
- 3rd place, MathCounts Chapter Competition, top 15, State Competition. Member bronze medal winning team at state. (2015)
- 2nd place, Beaverton Library Short Story Contest (November 2016)
- 2-time Most Valuable Participant, Mock Trial State Championship (2018)
Fun Stuff
Jeopardy!
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to qualify as one of 15 teenagers nationwide to compete in the 2019 Jeopardy! Teen Tournament. The tournament began on June 17, and I competed in the first round on June 21, 2019. After my victory in the quarterfinals, I competed in the semifinals on June 26, 2019, where I was able to win in a dramatic tiebreaker, advancing to the two-day finals on June 27-28, 2019. After two days of intense gameplay, I feel blessed to have been named the 2019 Jeopardy Teen Tournament Champion! It was truly an honor to meet and compete against the other contestants, and to have the opportunity to appear on a show that has been a huge part of my life.
I was deeply saddened to hear of Mr. Trebek’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis this spring. I know that if anyone can beat cancer, it’s him. Check out this article to read more about the #InspiredBy campaign I began with a $10,314 donation to end pancreatic cancer.
News Coverage
Previews: KATU ABC News (AM Northwest), The Oregonian, Portland Tribune, KATU ABC News (News Feature), KTVL CBS News
Quarterfinal: The Oregonian – Preview, The Oregonian – Recap
Semifinal (Tiebreaker): Yahoo News, USA Today, The Oregonian, AOL
Finals: The Oregonian – Preview, The Oregonian – Recap, KATU ABC News (AM Northwest)
International Media Coverage: The Economic Times, The Tribune, ZeeNews, Naidunia, IndiaWest, Asian Fortune, RepublicWorld
Profiles: The Oregonian, Portland Tribune, Oregon Public Broadcasting – Think Out Loud
Music
Much to the (minor) annoyance of my neighbors, I am a drummer by night, practicing at home and playing concerts at venues around Washington County.
IYSFF
An incredible and unique experience: I had the opportunity to MC and host the International Youth Silent Film Festival Global Awards Show (2017, 2018) where young talented filmmakers from around the world submit their original silent short films to be screened with a live organ soundtrack.
Chess
Chess Club
My lifelong passion for chess has led to numerous competitive successes and broader outreach efforts. My tournament career began at a young age, when I won consecutive Utah State Grade-Level Chess Championships in 2007 and 2008. After moving to Oregon in 2008, I continued to compete on the Oregon scholastic circuit, placing highly in several state competitions. Upon entering high school, I co-founded Catlin Gabel Chess with several of my classmates. Since its inception in 2015, Catlin Gabel Chess has won three state championships, three city championships, organized six statewide tournaments, and worked to promote chess worldwide, most notably in Equatorial Guinea. I co-captained the winning chess teams and have served as the Co-President of Catlin Gabel Chess since its founding, leading our delegation to Equatorial Guinea in November 2018.
Chess in EG
Chess in EG began during my sophomore year, when a project in an advanced Spanish class tasked us with examining sports in a Spanish-speaking country. We came into contact with Federico Elé Rano, a chess enthusiast in Equatorial Guinea (EG), the only Spanish-speaking nation in Africa, and we immediately connected over our shared passion for chess. Over the course of two years, we developed chess lesson plans in Spanish, organized scholastic chess festivals and started a GoFundMe page for chess supplies in EG schools (big thank you to the U.S. Department of State for delivering them). More
We have worked with Federico and other local chess activists to help found the Equatoguinean National Chess Association (ANAGE) which will allow for Equatoguinean representation in the World Chess Federation (FIDE). In November 2018, we traveled to EG at the invitation of ANAGE when the organization was officially chartered. We visited schools, met with Cabinet-level Ministers and Olympic officials. Our efforts were covered extensively on local and international media and helped raise chess awareness in the entire region.
Read my Trip Blog here!
On Armando Puentes on KBOO Community Radio, an afternoon of conversation about our project. Listen to the radio interview.
In the Media
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to qualify as one of 15 teenagers nationwide to compete in the 2019 Jeopardy! Teen Tournament. The tournament began on June 17, and I competed in the first round on June 21, 2019. After my victory in the quarterfinals, I competed in the semifinals on June 26, 2019, where I was able to win in a dramatic tiebreaker, advancing to the two-day finals on June 27-28, 2019. After two days of intense gameplay, I feel blessed to have been named the 2019 Jeopardy Teen Tournament Champion! It was truly an honor to meet and compete against the other contestants, and to have the opportunity to appear on a show that has been a huge part of my life.
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Coverage of arrival at in EG, where we were met by ANAGE leadership
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TVGE Meeting with Equatoguinean Minister of Education, University Instruction & Sports
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Chess Festival at Maria Cano School, Malabo
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Inaugural Equatoguinean Open, an international chess tournament we organized in conj
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Interview with ANAGE President Pedro Nguema
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Interview with ANAGE Technical Director Federico Elé Rano
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Presenting in Classrooms in Equatorial Guinea
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Opening Ceremony, Maria Cano Chess Festival
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Project32
Contact
Email:
avigupta7@gmail.com
