Sriram Jagannath
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Hi, I'm Sriram.

Sriram Jagannath Sriram Jagannath

I'm a high school student in Dubai, originally from Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. I spend most of my time on lunar materials and ZetaCore.

I'm working on energy for AI. One day, AI's appetite for power will push global energy demand past what today's grids can supply. One long-term answer is fusion fuelled by helium-3, which is rare on Earth but has been deposited in lunar soil by the solar wind for billions of years. Mining it means building machines that survive the Moon's sharp dust. That's where my coating comes in, and why I started ZetaCore.

I'm particularly interested in what breaks in space: how sharp lunar dust wears machines down, and what we could build that survives it.

When I'm not in the lab, I'm building ZetaCore.

You can reach me at sriramjagannath19@gmail.com.

Dubai · Class of 2027

Work

CSIR-NML, India
Primary inventor

A coating for lunar mining hardware

I wanted to work on Helium-3 mining, but lunar regolith is sharp, glassy dust that wears equipment down fast. I had no lab, so I cold-emailed CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory. They don't usually take high school students; they made an exception, and I became one of the youngest researchers ever to work at CSIR-NML. As primary inventor, I developed a new surface nanocoating for lunar hardware, with support from scientists in the Advanced Materials & Coatings Division.

  • Coating deposited and wear-tested, coated vs uncoated
  • Cleared CSIR-NML review; now under review at CSIR Headquarters before patent filing

Technical details are kept high-level here until the patent is filed.

Co-founder & CTO
Since March 2026

ZetaCore

A research-stage venture building durable materials for the energy infrastructure AI will need. Helium-3 is a candidate fuel for future fusion power, but the only practical supply is in lunar soil, and mining machines there get worn down by abrasive dust. ZetaCore's first step is to license my coating from CSIR-NML and turn it into hardware protection for helium-3 extraction. Backed by $5K in angel funding and co-founded with a retired chief scientist.

Software
Built with AI-assisted coding

Lunar Regolith Mapper

An AI tool that maps lunar regolith to flag where resource extraction would be most efficient.

Founder & CEO
Team Bellevistat

ISSDC: International Space Settlement Design Competition

  • ARSSDC Finals 2026–27: Asian Finalist (Runner-Up)

Founder
Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu

Project Tharagai

Free astronomy and space-science sessions for children in underserved neighbourhoods, with low-cost learning modules I designed. 350+ students reached.

Founder
August 2024

Perseid Global Citizen Science Research

Founded a citizen science project that brought together 100+ volunteers across 15+ observing stations to record meteor radiants and colours during the 2024 Perseids.

Founder
UAE

AstroNexus

The UAE's first-ever inter-school space-tech contest, which I founded, bringing together 13 schools across the UAE with 200+ participants.

Recognition

Round Square

King Constantine Medal

Awarded for my astronomy outreach programmes. Round Square featured my story on its international site.

Read the Round Square story ↗

ISSDC
Team Bellevistat

International Space Settlement Design Competition

  • ARSSDC Finals 2026–27: Asian Finalist (Runner-Up), as Founder & CEO of Team Bellevistat

Catch a Star

Three global recognitions, 2024–2025

An international research competition run by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE).

  • 2024: Top 10 globally, calculating the radius and orbital period of exoplanet Qatar-10b
  • 2025: Best Research Video globally, on detecting solar flares from sunspots using AI
  • 2025: Youngest Team Paper Leader globally, computing the distance to quasar 3C 273

About Catch a Star ↗

NASO

Gold Medal, National Astronomy & Science Olympiad

Rashmi SherronInterviewed by Rashmi SherronLive streams

Two live-streamed interviews

Hosted by ISRO Space Tutor and NASA Space Apps mentor Rashmi Sherron, on research and youth leadership in space tech.

Watch interview 1 ↗ · Watch interview 2 ↗