North Penn Grad and Wife Saving Science with $300K Gift, Sponsorship of Delaware Valley Science Fairs

A 1993 North Penn High School graduate and his wife are saving science in the Delaware Valley.

Doylestown residents Paul and Aarati Martino have given a $300,000 gift to and are now lead sponsors of the Delaware Valley Science Fairs nonprofit organization, according to Delaware Valley Journal.

The chairman of Delaware Valley Science Fairs since 2018, Martino, a Lehigh University and Princeton graduate, participated in the science fairs as a student at North Penn, per the report. He is the founder of post-seed stage venture capital firm Bullpen Capital that has invested in FanDuel and Grove Collaborative, among other companies.

"This is an event that was important to me in my middle and high school years and I want it to continue to be a staple event of the community,” said Martino in the article. "STEM continues to play an integral role as a pillar of the modern economy, both nationally and at home here in the Delaware Valley, and I am excited to help further the Delaware Valley Science Fair’s vision… Reward the best, inspire the rest.”

The $300,000 donation, per the report, will go toward growing participation, fund programs that help teachers with experiential learning, and helping those science geniuses that advance to the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair in Los Angeles in May.

Founded in 1948, Delaware Valley Science Fairs oversees 13 fairs with more than 900 participants from 6^th to 12^thgrade and more than 350 STEM-educated and science-industry professionals as judges, according to the report. The fairs take place in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties, as well as the Lehigh Valley, Delaware, and southern New Jersey.

The fair offers competition in 13 categories, including botany, zoology, chemistry, engineering, and microbiology. All awards are sponsored by corporations, individuals, and organizations.

This year’s free 2024 Delaware Valley Science Fair event takes place April 3 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. Participants actually spend three days involved with the fair, with a day of preparation and an awards ceremony event on the final day.

Read more on the Martino family influence here.