2026 Davidson Fellow Rajarshi Mandal was recently featured by The Lexington Observer following his selection as a Davidson Fellows Scholarship recipient.
Mandal, 16, of Lexington, Massachusetts, received a $50,000 scholarship for his science project, “Ordinary Differential Equation Modeling of Malaria Transmission Dynamics for Optimized ITN Allocation Strategies.”
For his project, Mandal developed a malaria transmission simulation that accounts for factors including insecticide resistance, seasonal changes in malaria transmission and the declining effectiveness of insecticide-treated nets over time. He then developed an allocation strategy to identify where limited supplies of these nets could be deployed most effectively.
In his analysis, Mandal found that his allocation method could prevent twice as many cases as current practices when using the same number of nets.
Mandal is a rising high school junior who plans to continue his education in advanced mathematics and computing. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing piano and has performed twice at Carnegie Hall.
Read the full feature from The Lexington Observer: “Community Announcement: Rajarshi Mandal, 16, awarded $50,000 Davidson Fellowship.”