Laksh Dhir

Laksh Dhir, a student at The Ohio State University, founded Youth for STEM Equity (YSE) at just 16 years old to provide free STEM experiences for K-12 students in Columbus, Ohio. Recognizing the need for deeper impact, he pioneered STEMscapesTM—immersive STEM escape rooms that combine gamification, active learning, and real-world applications to enhance student engagement, knowledge retention, and career exploration. STEMscapesTM also support educators through professional development modules and streamlined lesson integration, alleviating teacher workload and improving classroom outcomes. Guided by research mentors like Dr. Sophia Jeong and Dr. Claudia Buchmann, Laksh further refined STEMscapesTM to focus on critical thinking and interpersonal engagement, strengthening teacher-student relationships. Through YSE, he has delivered over $200,000 in free educational services, expanded STEMscapesTM to libraries, schools, and top science museums such as COSI, grown his team to 35 employees, launched chapters in three high schools, and earned numerous accolades, including Columbus Business First Inno Under 25 Award, the President’s Buckeye Accelerator Award, and the Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award.