LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville student is a semifinalist in a NASA competition.

Students in the contest had to dream up a space mission and explain how it would be powered.

A 7th grader in Louisville is one of the 45 semifinalists across the country.

What You Need To Know

  • Dhiraj Javvadi, 13, is one of 45 semifinalist in the Power to Explore competition

  • The competition received 1,787 entries 

  • Dhiraj's entry focused on trans-neptunian objects

  • Winners will be selected from the finalist pool on April 17, 2024

Dhiraj Javvadi, 13, is currently making a device that could monitor the temperature of an organ when being transported for a transplantation procedure.  

“Usually, smart coolers and stuff like that for that specific type are usually really expensive and I wanted to challenge myself and see if I can make one, which would be significantly cheaper, but still as effective,” said Javvadi, semifinalist in the Power to Explore competition.

As a semifinalist in the Power to Explore challenge, Javvadi had to write a mission using radioisotope power systems or RPS.

“So solar panels use the sun, right, so to go into dark places where you can’t use solar panels, scientists typically use RPS,” said Javvadi.

Javvadi’s entry focused on trans-neptunian objects (TNO)—which he said are frozen pieces of time from when the solar system formed. 

“Since TNOs are typically unaltered from the beginning of the solar system, if we could study those TNOs, we could find clues about how the solar system formed in the first place,” he said.

His work on the project did not go unnoticed by his family.

“I just remember going to his room before he submitted his final project, and there was just like post-it notes just everywhere on his desk, he was drafting so many things out and I thought it was just exceptional, just a very driven individual, very curious,” said his brother, Sai Javvadi.

Once he graduates high school and goes off to college, Javvadi said he hopes to work for NASA in the biology field.

“Though I’m curious, with engineering and astronomy, I’m also really passionate about biology. So … I want to have a career which would fuse all those, all those paths I’m interested in,” said Javvadi.

Finalists will be announced on April 8, 2024.

Winners will be selected from the finalist pool on April 17, 2024.

Winners receive a trip to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio to learn about the people and technology behind NASA missions.

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