In November 2022, Rupa Chaturvedi, an award-winning and experienced design leader and educator, founded a team of high school students called Palo Alto Solar Vehicle. She coached them to take a design thinking approach to design and build a solar powered car from scratch. She organized training for these students in metal fabrication, welding and access to industry experts and mentors.

The car was built in a record time of less than 4 months, recorded a speed of 31 MPH and cleared all 7 scrutineering tests - qualifying for the cross country race organized by the Solar Car Challenge. The team won 2nd place award for their mechanical drawings and a special award for distinction. The project was covered by several local and national media channels .

With a vision to offer similar learning experiences and exposure to the broader community, Rupa founded Miraj Sustainable Race Club (MSRC) to promote access to stem education and sustainable racing.

Rupa is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in the tech industry, having worked at companies like Amazon, Google, Uber, and unicorn startups like Sentient Technologies. Throughout her career, she has focused on designing products in emerging technologies, including Computer Vision, AI/ML, AR/VR, and Conversational & Voice Interfaces.

As a visionary in the field, Rupa has dedicated her career to humanizing technology and uplifting others through her work and mentorship. Recognized as a thought leader in user-centered design, her superpower lies in helping startups and product teams achieve Product-User Fit by adopting a user-centered approach to product development. Rupa is also:

• Adjunct professor at Stanford University

• Design mentor at First Round Capital