Hi, I'm Sidharth Sandeep

Student Engineer, Educator & Community Builder

I am a high school senior, passionate about technology and business, with research interests in robotics, IoT, microcontrollers, machine learning, and mathematics. I'm a builder who sees technology as a bridge between innovation and community impact. From teaching Python to third-graders to engineering autonomous robots, I create accessible solutions that solve real-world problems.

📍 Robbinsville High School, Class of 2026 🎓 Johns Hopkins CTY SET Grand Honors 🏅 Congressional Silver Medal (Gold Pending)
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About Me

I'm a builder, educator, and problem-solver who sees technology as a tool for social good. Rather than pursuing engineering for its own sake, I identify real-world problems—from senior citizens struggling with smartphones to pedestrian safety gaps in older vehicles—and develop practical, accessible solutions.

What excites me most is the intersection of advanced technical work (robotics, AI/ML, embedded systems) with genuine human connection through teaching and mentorship. I'm honored to be a Johns Hopkins CTY Study of Exceptional Talent (SET) alumnus with Grand Honors, and I've earned the Congressional Silver Medal through extensive service.

But beyond these recognitions, I'm most proud of the moments when I've helped an ten-year-old debug their first Python program or watched a senior citizen video call their grandchildren for the first time after I taught them how.

16 AP Courses
20K+ Article Impressions
200+ Students Mentored
5 Years in 4-H

Achievements & Recognition

National Honors

  • Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Study of Exceptional Talent (SET) Alumni - Grand Honors Award (Age 12)Recognized among the top 0.01% of young scholars worldwide for exceptional performance on above-grade-level assessment, qualifying for SET membership by scoring 1500 on the SAT at age 12
  • Congressional Award - Silver Medal (Gold Medal Pending) 200+ hours each in volunteer service, personal development, physical fitness, and explorationCompleted 400+ hours in volunteer service and 200+ in each of personal development, physical fitness, and exploration toward Congressional Gold Medal—Congress's highest recognition for youth achievement

Competition Excellence

  • FIRST Lego League - Runner-up North New Jersey Regionals
  • Science Olympiad - Silver Medal Invitational Competition
  • Continental Mathematics League - 1st Place 8th Grade Division (also 3rd Place, 6th Grade)
  • Math League - 1st Place Statewide Competition (3 consecutive years)
  • Outstanding Innovation Award Engineering Project Innovation (Robbinsville Innovation 4-H Club)

Professional Certifications

  • NVIDIA - Building RAG Agents with LLMs Advanced training in retrieval augmented generation and large language models
  • Inspirit AI - AI Scholars Program AI Scholar certification awarded to top-performing high school students globally. Completed 25-hour intensive program covering AI fundamentals, machine learning, and social impact projects

Leadership & Community Impact

Robbinsville 4-H Innovation Club

Vice President (2025-Present) | Treasurer (2021-2025)

Five years of leadership coordinating STEM workshops reaching 75+ youth annually, managing $2,000+ budget, and organizing county fair exhibits.

  • Coordinate STEM and IoT workshops for 75+ students annually
  • Manage club budget exceeding $2,000 for materials and equipment
  • Mentor members through complete project lifecycle from brainstorming to presentation
  • Organize county fair exhibits showcasing student engineering projects

CodeWiz Plainsboro

Coding & Robotics Coach (April 2024-Present)

Teaching Python, Java, and robotics to 40+ K-8 students weekly, designing curricula that balance technical rigor with age-appropriate engagement.

  • Teach Python, Java, and Robotics to 40+ students weekly
  • Design robotics camp curricula for multiple age groups
  • Increased enrollment by 30 students through engaging instruction
  • Explain advanced concepts like OOP to elementary students

Computer Science Club

Vice President

Organizing large-scale technical events and competitions that engage hundreds of students in computer science education.

  • Organize hackathons for 120+ students with complete logistics and judging coordination
  • Lead app development teams for local and regional competitions
  • Coordinated school-wide CS Fair with 500+ participants
  • Manage speaker invitations and sponsor outreach with industry professionals

Math League

Event Coordinator

Leading competition preparation and tutoring that drove team to three consecutive state championships.

  • Team earned 1st place statewide for 3 consecutive years
  • Organize math competitions for 200+ K-8 students
  • Tutor underclassmen, increasing team average score by 33%
  • Coordinate event logistics, registration, and judging

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)

AI Workshop Instructor

Designing and delivering AI/ML workshops for corporate "Take Your Child to Work Day" events with 60-100+ student participants.

  • Designed AI/ML workshops for 60+ students (2024) and 100+ students (2025)
  • Created hands-on Python modules covering generative AI and chatbot development
  • Taught Google's Teachable Machine platform to high schoolers
  • Presented to both students and corporate professionals simultaneously

FIRST Lego League Team Minotaur

Technical Mentor & Programming Coach (3+ Seasons)

Three seasons coaching the same middle school robotics team to state championship competition and top 10 finish among 80+ New Jersey teams.

  • Coached team from beginners to state championship competitors
  • Taught advanced machine control and line-following techniques
  • Improved average competition score by 180 points
  • Team earned Engineering Excellence Award (regionals) and Judges Award (state)

Community Service

Robbinsville Senior Center

Technology Support Volunteer

Weekly tech support for 50+ seniors covering smartphones, tablets, video calling, email, online banking, and scam awareness. This work profoundly shaped how I think about accessible technology design.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Volunteer Coordinator

Coordinated 15+ volunteers for Light the Night fundraising event reaching 500+ attendees. Managed logistics, volunteer assignments, and event flow.

SAT Tutoring Bootcamp

Lead Math & Reading Tutor

Tutored 25+ students in SAT preparation with personalized study plans. Lead group review sessions achieving average 180-point score improvements.

Featured Engineering Projects

Active portfolio on GitHub and technical articles on Medium and LinkedIn with 20,000+ social media impressions.

SCARA Chess-Playing Robotic Arm

Autonomous Robotics | Computer Vision | AI

Designed and built an autonomous robotic arm that plays chess using Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and 3D-printed mechanical components with OpenCV-based computer vision.

Problem

Creating a physical robot capable of understanding chess board states and making strategic moves in real-time with precision and accuracy.

Technical Approach

Implemented OpenCV for real-time board detection and piece recognition, integrated Stockfish chess engine for move calculation, and developed custom inverse kinematics for precise positioning. Developed serial communication protocol bridging high-level decision-making with low-level motor control.

Impact

  • Successfully detects board changes with 95%+ accuracy
  • Published comprehensive build guide on Medium with 3,126 impressions
  • Sparked conversations with makers worldwide
  • Showcased at multiple CS events and competitions
Python OpenCV Raspberry Pi Arduino Inverse Kinematics Stockfish

Pedestrian Detection using Edge Computing

Machine Learning | Edge AI | Accessibility

Cost-effective retrofit safety system using Raspberry Pi 4 and Google Coral Edge TPU to bring advanced safety features to families who can't afford luxury vehicles.

Problem

Many families can't afford vehicles with modern safety features like pedestrian detection, leaving them vulnerable to preventable accidents.

Technical Approach

Engineered cost-effective system using Raspberry Pi 4 and Google Coral Edge TPU. Trained custom machine learning model achieving 95% accuracy with sub-50ms latency. Implemented real-time alert buzzer to warn drivers of nearby pedestrians.

Impact

  • Democratizes advanced safety technology for all income levels
  • Achieves 95% detection accuracy with minimal latency
  • Medium article garnered 2,338 impressions
  • Demonstrates accessible, retrofit approach to vehicle safety
Python TensorFlow Edge TPU Machine Learning Computer Vision

Child Car Safety Device (Hot Car Prevention)

IoT | Embedded Systems | Child Safety

Arduino-based monitoring system using dual sensors to detect child presence and dangerous temperature thresholds, preventing hot car tragedies.

Problem

Hot car deaths are preventable tragedies that continue to occur despite awareness campaigns. A technical solution can provide fail-safe protection.

Technical Approach

Developed Arduino-based system using dual Arduino Nano Sense modules with sensors detecting child presence and temperature thresholds. Alert mechanism notifies caregivers before tragedy strikes.

Impact

  • Addresses life-threatening safety gap with affordable technology
  • Real-time monitoring with multi-sensor approach
  • Open-source design available on GitHub
  • Can be installed in any vehicle regardless of age or model
Arduino C++ IoT Sensor Integration

Mental Health-Focused Chatbot Using RAG

AI/ML | Healthcare | Natural Language Processing

AI-powered chatbot helping medical providers identify mental illness symptoms more effectively using Retrieval Augmented Generation architecture.

Problem

Medical providers need better tools to identify mental health symptoms during patient interactions, especially given limited appointment times.

Technical Approach

Implemented Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture combining large language models with medical knowledge retrieval. System provides evidence-based guidance for symptom identification.

Impact

  • Medium article generated 5,849 impressions
  • Sparked meaningful discussions with healthcare professionals
  • Demonstrates practical application of RAG in healthcare
  • Applies NVIDIA RAG certification knowledge to real problem
Python RAG LLMs Healthcare NLP

DanceOff Computer Vision Game

Computer Vision | Interactive Media | Education

Just Dance-style interactive game using MediaPipe pose detection and custom SciKit-Learn model to recognize YMCA dance poses from landmark data.

Problem

Creating engaging, interactive demonstrations of computer vision and pose detection that students can immediately understand and enjoy.

Technical Approach

Created game using MediaPipe for real-time pose detection and OpenCV for video processing. Trained custom SciKit-Learn model to recognize YMCA poses (Y, M, C, A positions) from body landmark data.

Impact

  • Featured at 2024 CS Fair with enthusiastic student participation
  • Open-source on GitHub with complete documentation
  • Makes pose detection accessible and fun for student developers
  • Demonstrates practical application of ML in interactive media
Python MediaPipe OpenCV SciKit-Learn Computer Vision

Additional Engineering Projects

IoT | Hardware | Embedded Systems

Collection of hardware and embedded systems projects demonstrating breadth of technical skills across multiple domains.

CNC Laser Engraver

Designed and constructed custom CNC machine integrating stepper motors, control electronics, and safety systems for precision engraving applications.

Smart Stove Monitoring System

IoT device detecting when stove is left on after occupants leave, using sensors and wireless communication to prevent fire hazards.

Physical Text-to-Speech Machine

Hardware implementation using Tesseract OCR and text-to-speech synthesis (GTTS) to convert printed text to audio output.

ESP32 IoT Cloud Integration

Presented at HackFRee 2023, demonstrating ESP32 microcontroller sending sensor data to Google Sheets via IFTTT cloud integration.

CNC IoT ESP32 OCR Cloud Integration

Get In Touch

Interested in collaboration, mentorship, or discussing technology for social good? I'd love to hear from you. Connect with me through any of the channels below.

Email sidharthsandeep17@gmail.com
GitHub github.com/disisid17
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/sidsandeep
Medium medium.com/@sidharthsandeep17

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