Dear Future Builder.
Students bringing bold projects to life alongside the mentors who work in the field. Real problems, real hands-on making, one story at a time.
A Message to the Next Generation of Makers
Featuring the voices behind the series
Real problems, real hands-on making — the voices of Dear Future Builder tell the next generation why there’s never been a better time to build.
Watch the film →
Clean Water, No Lab Required
Wanda Wu (U.S. Student Champion) & Dr. Tracy Fanara
Wanda Wu built a household sensor that detects PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water — no lab required. Environmental scientist Dr. Tracy Fanara on nurturing young talent and building a world that doesn’t exist yet.
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Coming soonAir Everyone Can Breathe
Sathvik Dasari (U.S. Student Champion) & Matt Draper
Sathvik Dasari built a low-cost sensor that uses machine learning to predict air pollution — accurate enough to rival $200,000 monitoring stations, cheap enough for any community to own. Matthew C. Draper, PhD — Deputy Director of the Innovation Capability and Modernization (ICAM) Office — on turning the impossible into hardware, and why confidence is the skill that makes every other skill count.
Coming soonA Lifeline in the Rubble
Nichelle Thinagar (U.S. Student Champion) & David Berry
Nichelle Thinagar built a biomimetic robotic snake to slip through rubble and carry food and water to survivors until rescue crews arrive — its 3D-printed scales smooth one way, rough the other, just like a real snake. Project MFG’s David Berry, who teaches machining full-time, on the craft behind every man-made thing and the obsession that turns a good idea into one that changes the world.
From Trash to 3D Print
Levi Dunn (U.S. Student Champion) & Kurt Helison
Levi Dunn turned two passions — recycling and 3D printing — into one machine: wash, shred, melt, and compress plastic waste into fresh printer filament. St. Cloud State’s Kurt Helison, who brings America’s Cutting Edge into high schools, on why modern manufacturing is bright, clean, and creative — and why making a part beats calculating one.
Watch →Are you a future builder?
Every Champion has a story worth telling. See how students turn ideas into impact.