Praba Soundarajan
Citizen Spotlight
Neuroscientist and Author of Pumpus Stories
Neuroscientist by day, entrepreneur by night, Praba Soundarajan is challenging traditional means of education.
Praba is a neuroscientist who gets to develop his ideas and inventions everyday. He is also the Founder and CEO of BOON-dah, an EdTech company whose mission is to grow and nurture a child's creativity and curiosity through the integration of imagination and science.
Growing up in India, Praba was a reluctant reader during his childhood and much of the earlier part of his adulthood. After moving to North America to pursue an education in Neuroscience, he discovered why he was such a reluctant reader. Praba discovered his dyslexia and that he is a visual learner. He started reading short stories, science, and engineering books that were pictorial. He then began to write stories for children with the hope of inspiring young reluctant readers.
This led to the development of Pumpus the Pumpkin and his pals, as a means of teaching STEM through storytelling using characters that were relatable to children. Pumpus and his friends are Praba's gift to his younger self and other visual and kinesthetic learners.
Want to learn more about Praba's story? Check out Praba Soundarajan on The Work Ethic.