From India, Tejaswini —a 26-year-old food technologist— exemplifies the kind of youth leadership our planet urgently needs. As the founder of Climate Action Initiative T29, her journey illustrates how science, innovation, and social responsibility can come together to drive meaningful change from the ground up.
“What if this food and agricultural waste has some potential? What if this would be something extraordinary?” Tejaswini asked herself during her studies in biotechnology. That question led her to explore the untapped value of agricultural and food waste, eventually sparking a project that transforms waste into high-value, sustainable materials: carbon quantum blocks.
These smart nanomaterials have wide-ranging applications in clean energy, medicine, biomedical imaging, agriculture, and even semiconductors. But for Tejaswini, the project’s true significance lies beyond the science: “This is not just about waste, it's about value, it's about equity, it's about building a circular economy that empowers farmers, supports industries and protects our planet all at once.”
