There are layers to me.
Hi, I'm Laksh Sarda
My Physics Professor calls me "Lux"—the unit of brightness. Most others mispronounce my name as Lakshya, but that's okay.

A quote I live by

Stealers are monsters; takers are humans; givers are gods.

Vishnu Sir—My Hindi Teacher

My Interests

Mathematics

Math has sometimes been the greatest nemesis of good sleep, and sometimes it's been the greatest ally. This duality makes math incredibly appealing—the thrill of solving a problem that at first gave me goosebumps is still largely unmatched. Bayes' theorem is my personal favorite in Math—it's just a beautiful condensation and mockery of condition-based probability.

Coding for a cause

I initially started coding because I just loved seeing prescribed case studies and developing Python programs to implement solutions. However, after collaborating with peers to use technology for social good, I've come to treat coding as more than an exercise of problem-solving. Finding a way to use my skills to bring positive change in society is the greatest reward of programming.

Projects

Chess

I'm no Magnus Carlsen. I don't aspire to be. My interest in chess stemmed from my father's yearly routine of hosting an "Intrafamily Chess Championship" at the family's rural home. For the past 9 years, I have looked to learn more openings and experiment with new playing lines to find a way to get past my father and my 10 cousins who have partaken—I decided to use Stockfish 15 (the best chess computer) in 2022 for my preparation and I finally won in 2023 (probably the best day of my life). More than strategy-making, chess taught me perseverance and showed me how technology can complement human skill development.

Honors

Cambridge Outstanding Learner Award Top in India in Hindi as a Second Language
After getting a B in my pre-board examinations, I read endless Hindi newspapers and listened to over 100 Hindi podcasts to eventually secure the highest marks in Hindi as a Second Language out of 75,000 candidates in March of 2023.
Summa Cum Laude - Highest Marks in Grade X IGCSE 1st Place
Achieved the highest aggregate IGCSE score throughout the school (240 candidates) and the state of Rajasthan (2000 candidates) in the 2022-2023 IGCSE examination series.
Topper in Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics and Hindi as a Second Language in IGCSE board examinations 1st Place
Only candidate to top the school in 4 subjects in the 2022-2023 IGCSE Examination series; All India Rank 2 in Chemistry and Computer Science; Rajasthan rank 1 in Physics.
TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Globals Business Competition 2024 1st Place and Best Teamwork
First place in Maker Faire out of 5000 teams. Represented state of Rajasthan in Hyderabad for global finals; received $1,500 as prize money; experimented with over 10 presentations and 8 pitching scripts.
Greenathon 2023 1st Place and Best Idea
Developed a method to reuse sewage water as drinking water using 10th grade Chemistry and Machine-Learning. The idea was chosen as 2 out of over 400 submissions from my region to be presented at the UNESCO headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. Eventually recognized amongst the three best ideas out over 7000 presentations and submissions.
Versatile Genius 2023 1st Place
Awarded to 3 out of 240 students for demonstrating the highest level of commitment to academics and extracurricular activities.
Harvard India Impact Initiative 2024 National Semi-Finalist
Represented team in New Delhi to pitch Serenity; awarded as the top 4 social initiatives out of over 150 initiatives; seeked advice from students and mentors from Harvard College.
GDTech 2024 by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) 1st Place
Presented research on hearing aid with a team of 4 to translate spoken words into another language as audio output in real-time. Finished first despite being the only school team competing with 150 college teams.
The International School Bangalore (TISB) Hackathon 2023 1st Place
Developed high-level framework for an educational chatbot for the UN SDG of quality education. Received $300. Won out of 200 teams in 15+ countries.
QS Reimagine Education 2024 Shortlist in Generative AI category
Currently shortlisted in top 50 out of 1200 submissions for use of generative AI to provide access to higher quality education. Will soon participate in further rounds.
Most Diligent Student 2024 1st Place
Among the top 3 students in the entire school in terms of maintaining academic performance and discipline.
Abhimanyu Ranawat Trophy for "Best in Sciences" 2024 1st Place
Achieved highest percentage in Physics and Computer Science in internal examinations to become the first person in school history to be awarded Best in Sciences with Computer Science and Physics.
Best in Mathematics 2024 1st Place
Maintained highest percentage in Mathematics and showed greatest command of rigorous topics in Mathematics Analysis and Approaches (Higher Level) to be amongst the top 3 Math students in my grade.
Best in Computers 2024 1st Place
Showed greatest command of programming and theoretical Computer Science in school out of 3000 students. Awarded to 4 seniors out of 240.
Best Social Initiative 2024 (Serenity) 1st Place
Awarded to 2 out of 100+ social initiatives in school for maximum community impact.
IB League STEM competition 2024 Most Innovative Solution
Only person in school to represent STEM team in IB League for 2 consecutive years. Applied my knowledge of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science to collaborate with a team of 5 to monitor and maintain the health of a frozen astronaut. Used relativity concepts to prevent ageing and learnt new Biology concepts.
SGFI 2022 National Table-Tennis Tournament Pre-Quarter Finalist
Finished within top-16 in Under-17 individual event held at Vadodara, Gujarat.
Rajasthan State-Level Table-Tennis Championship Semi-Finalist
Finished in top 4 out of 300+ participants. 2nd in district.
ISSO 2022 3rd Place
Finished third in national Table-Tennis competition held at Pune, India with over 50 partipating students from IB World Schools.
ISSO 2023 2nd Place
Led school team to second place out of over 30 competing schools in national Table-Tennis competition in Noida, India.
Academic Excellence 2022, 2023 and 2024 1st Place
Among the only 4 people (out of 240) in my grade to receive academic excellence in all years of high school.
Thailand International Mathematics Olympiad (TIMO) 2021 3rd Place
Out of 10,000 participants from India, I got the third highest score in the HEATS round.
SOF International General Knowledge Olympiad 2021 3rd place
All India Rank 3 out of over 60,000 test takers nationally.
Extracurricular Excellence 2022, 2023 and 2024 1st Place
Demonstrated deep commitment to outside-the-classroom activities.