9 Indians named Knight-Hennessy scholars at Stanford

Scholars will pursue graduate degrees across all seven Stanford schools, supported with up to three years of financial aid

By Arun Kumar

At least eight Indian-origin students figure among the 2025 cohort of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford University, joining a global group of 84 scholars from 25 countries. They are: Saisri Akondi, Anvita Gupta, Shivam Kalkar, Aravind Krishnan, Meera Menon, Aneesh Pappu, Veda Sunkara, Kevin Stephen and Neil Upreti.

Knight-Hennessy scholars will pursue degrees in 46 graduate programs across all seven graduate schools at Stanford. They will receive up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world.

READ: Four Indian Americans among 2025 Truman Scholars (April 24th, 2025) 

“Our world has never been in greater need of leaders to address a wide range of challenges,” said John L. Hennessy, Stanford University president emeritus and the Shriram Family Director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars. “Our scholars are ready to think boldly, act wisely and humbly, and lead with purpose, helping build a better future for all of us.”

The Indian-origin students:

Saisri Akondi, from Hyderabad, Telangana, is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business. She previously earned a master’s degree in product innovation from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology.

Saisri aspires to bridge the gap between deep technology and accessible healthcare, ensuring that life-changing medical technologies reach marginalized communities. She is the co-founder and CEO of D.Sole, a medtech startup developing AI-powered smart insoles for early detection and monitoring of diabetic foot complications.

Anvita Gupta, from Scottsdale, Arizona, is pursuing a PhD in computer science at Stanford School of Engineering. She graduated with distinction from Stanford University with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science.

Anvita aims to leverage advances in artificial intelligence to develop new genetic therapies for patients suffering from complex diseases. Most recently, Anvita founded AINovo Biotech, where she led development of a patented diagnostic for lung cancer.

Shivam Kalkar, originally from Aurangabad, Maharashtra, is currently pursuing an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), graduating with the Silver Medal.

Shivam is deeply passionate about democratizing access to healthcare, education, and financial services for underserved populations through emerging technologies and policy advocacy. While at IIT Madras, he developed an electrolarynx to help oral cancer survivors speak. He also leads Unnati Microfinance NPO in India, which focuses on the financial inclusion of women in low-income communities, including his own.

Aravind Krishnan, from Newark, Delaware, is pursuing an MD and PhD at Stanford School of Medicine. He studied molecular and cell biology, health care management and policy, and statistics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Aravind founded ToxiSense, which develops more sustainable and cost-effective assays for bacterial contamination in medical products and for bacterial infections; led the Shelter Health Outreach Program, a mobile free clinic system in Philadelphia; co-founded the West Philadelphia Sanctuary to address loneliness and social isolation among at-risk populations by developing a community third space; and researched DNA damage repair and telomere biology.

Meera Menon, from San Ramon, California, is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a master’s degree in Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education.

She earned a bachelor of science in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Meera aspires to lead an education philanthropy that strengthens nonprofits through long-term funding and capacity-building, ensuring they can scale sustainably and serve students effectively. She co-founded Unscripted Project, a nonprofit that has equipped more than 3,500 students with life skills like speaking confidently through improvisational theater.

Aneesh Pappu, from Pullman, Washington, is pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering at Stanford School of Engineering. He graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in symbolic systems and a master’s degree in computer science.

As a Marshall Scholar, he earned a master’s degree in machine learning from University College London and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Cambridge. His work focuses on research and policy for building safe AI. As a researcher at Google DeepMind, he worked on privacy for AI, and, as a policy analyst at the Ada Lovelace Institute, he published research on auditing social media platforms for compliance with the U.K. Online Safety Act.

Kevin Stephen, from Somerset, New Jersey, is pursuing a master’s in business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science. Kevin aspires to develop carbon-sequestering urban infrastructure technology to enable global real estate developers to minimize embodied carbon at scale.

At Harvard, he wrote his thesis on the potential of mathematical optimization to mitigate side effects from solar geoengineering. After graduation, Kevin helped lead the 2020 Biden campaign’s national calls organizing endeavor; his efforts reached 20,000 volunteers and 12 million voters.

Veda Sunkara, from Los Altos, California, is pursuing a PhD in environment and resources at Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. She graduated from Brown University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science.

Veda aims to help develop equitable adaptation solutions to escalating climate change-driven disasters, leveraging remote-sensing and machine learning technologies to empower community-driven resilience.

Her work focuses on minimizing harm to frontline communities, using principles of mutual aid and insights from large-scale spatial data to plan for escalating climate extremes effectively.

Neil Upreti, from Dallas, Texas, is pursuing an MD at Stanford School of Medicine. He graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering.

Inspired by disparities seen during five years of EMS work and volunteering in free clinics, Neil aspires to increase accessibility to healthcare in resource-limited settings by developing low-cost therapeutic and diagnostic tools.

He founded Fluoride Fellowship Inc., an NGO that has helped provide medical supplies to more than 20,000 individuals in underserved communities, led initiatives to commercialize novel medical devices, and interned at Siemens Healthineers.