At just 17 years old, Sricharan Pullela from Mountain House High School is proving that innovation has no age limit. While many high school seniors are focused on college applications or final exams, Sricharan is pushing the boundaries of environmental science and artificial intelligence. With guidance from his PhD mentor in the YRI Fellowship, he developed a machine learning model capable of classifying dissolved organic matter (DOM) indices in agricultural ponds with remarkable accuracy achieving over 95% predictive power.
DOM levels are a critical marker of environmental health. They reflect the nutrient balance, pollution load, and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. By tracking DOM, scientists can detect early signs of eutrophication (dangerous algal blooms), nutrient runoff from agriculture, or contamination from industrial sources. Monitoring DOM is therefore essential not just for ecology, but also for agriculture and human health. Yet traditional methods often require costly lab tests, complex equipment, and significant time resources that many farmers and smaller environmental agencies cannot easily access.
Sricharan’s project changes the equation. By applying machine learning algorithms such as Random Forest and Gradient Boosting Machines to two years of pond water data, he was able to uncover complex biogeochemical signatures that influence water quality. The model didn’t just crunch numbers it provided new insights into how specific nutrients such as strontium, potassium, and magnesium affect DOM levels. This is significant because it offers a way to monitor pond ecosystems non-invasively, affordably, and at scale.
“I started with very little knowledge about AI, just some Python basics,” Sricharan shared. “But I wanted to merge environmental chemistry with the fast-paced world of AI and the YRI Fellowship gave me the tools to make it happen.” His journey illustrates the Fellowship’s philosophy: raw curiosity paired with world-class mentorship can lead to breakthroughs that matter.
What makes Sricharan’s work so powerful is its practical application. His research demonstrates how AI can provide low-cost, scalable, and accurate monitoring tools for farmers, environmental agencies, and researchers. For agriculture, this means farmers could track pond health and nutrient balance to ensure irrigation water is safe and effective. For conservationists, it offers a way to detect pollution early and safeguard aquatic biodiversity. For public health agencies, it provides data to prevent harmful contamination from spreading through water systems.
Water quality has long been a global concern. According to the UN, nearly 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, while agricultural runoff remains a leading cause of water pollution worldwide. Tools like Sricharan’s AI system could play a vital role in creating sustainable monitoring strategies for both developed and developing regions. By lowering the cost and increasing the speed of environmental analysis, his work could democratize access to reliable water quality data.
Beyond its environmental significance, the project highlights an important message: high schoolers, when given the right mentorship, can contribute to frontier science. What began as an idea from a student with “just Python basics” has evolved into a study that demonstrates cutting-edge integration of environmental chemistry, data science, and AI modeling. This transformation is the essence of the YRI Fellowship empowering students to go beyond learning science to actually doing science.
Sricharan’s project also underscores how AI is reshaping environmental research. Traditional ecological studies often rely on manual sampling and retrospective analysis. By contrast, machine learning enables real-time insights and predictive modeling. If scaled, tools like his could be integrated into IoT-based water sensors, enabling continuous monitoring of ponds, lakes, and rivers. This would revolutionize ecosystem management, shifting the field from reactive to predictive and preventative.
For Sricharan, however, the journey was about more than coding or modeling. It was about proving that curiosity, persistence, and the right guidance are enough to tackle even global challenges. “I wanted my project to be more than numbers on a screen,” he said. “It was about building something that could actually help communities and ecosystems.”
This breakthrough reflects the mission of the YRI Fellowship: giving students the platform and mentorship to transform passion into impactful science. By surrounding young researchers with PhD-level mentors, structured milestones, and a global peer community, YRI ensures that projects move beyond ideas into rigorous, publication-ready research.
With projects like Sricharan’s, the Fellowship shows how youth-driven innovation can make a real difference. In an era where climate change, pollution, and resource scarcity dominate headlines, students like him are proving that solutions can come from the most unexpected places even from a 17-year-old high school senior in Mountain House.
Learn more about how the YRI Fellowship empowers young researchers like Sricharan to innovate for the planet at yriscience.com.