Her goal is "to save lives and make the world a better place.". Gitanjali saw a real-world problem in the Flint Water Crisis and was inspired to create a way to help: her award-winning Tethys device. ", Christian Leader Urges Prayers for 'Chaos and Conflict' in the Capitol So God Takes Dem Majority Away, 'Hillbilly Elegy' Author Defends Tucker Carlson After His 'Replacement Theory' Rant Draws Outrage, Matt Gaetz Caught Paying Alleged Sex Trafficker in Public Venmo Transaction and, Yeah, It's Bad, The Senate Parliamentarian Just Delivered Schumer a Huge Unexpected Win—Here's What that Means for Biden's Agenda, Dem Senator Blasted for Ridiculous Reason She Won't Budge on Pro-Filibuster Stance. In addition to that, the finalists had to pair up and compete in two additional challenges that required combining multiple 3M technologies to solve real-world problems. The 3D-printed box is about the size of a deck of cards and contains a battery, bluetooth and carbon nanotubes. Sie lebt in Lone Tree in Colorado und ist Schülerin der STEM School Highlands Ranch) (Stand 2020). At the time, she had just learned about the water crisis in Flint, ... Gitanjali’s innovation proposes a new way to detect lead in drinking water with a tool she called “Tethys,” named after the Greek goddess of fresh water. “I was appalled by the number of people affected by lead contamination in water and I wanted to do something to change this,” she told ABC. Her goal is "to save lives and make the world a better place. Tethys, a handheld instrument which tests for lead in water faster and more affordably than the current techniques, won Gitanjali the amazing accolade of America's Top Young Scientist by 3M and Discovery Education. (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MAKERS), While Flint’s water crisis has fallen out of the public news cycle, its residents are still living with the aftermath of an. We have also curated a small list of achievements for our real life Sheldon Cooper aka Biographie. While she will be using a lot of her prize money for college, she hopes to use some of it to invest in Tethys to make it commercially available. While it may seem unnecessary to create a new lead testing device, it turns out that testing for lead in the water is not as easy as it seems and can cost a lot of money and require multiple tests. Hear from the 13-year-old inventor herself on how it works. With Gitanjali's device, instead of taking days to send water samples to a lab, her device detects lead in seconds using carbon molecules -- and a mobile app. "It's not hyperbole to say she really blew us out of the water," Brian Barnhart, a school superintendent in Illinois and one of the 3M judges, told ABC. Inspired by the Flint water crisis, 12-year old Gitanjali Rao created a cheap device to test drinking water for lead, and won a $25,000 science prize for it. ABC reported she “spent months trying to convince local high schools and colleges to give her lab time to continue her experiment.”. Rao’s device relies upon the relatively new field of nanotechnology. Gitanjali Rao a été élue "enfant de l'année" par la parution qui dévoile, chaque mois de décembre, un classement des personnalités qui ont marqué l'année écoulée. Our first question was, ‘Is this what you really want to go after? “When I saw my parents testing for lead in our water, I immediately realized that using test strips would take quite a few tries in order to get accurate results and I really wanted to do something to change this, not only for my parents but for the residents of Flint and places like Flint around the world,” she told Rookie Magazine. Named “America’s Top Young Scientist,” Gitanjali hopes to inspire other kids to get moving and make a difference in their own communities. While she admits she was nervous at first to talk to “someone so knowledgeable and an accomplished scientist,” Shafer quickly put Rao at ease and taught her some valuable lessons. Gitanjali Rao: It is how we have been brought up, so it is the core value for the common good of people. Secondly, where does Gitanjali Rao live? As of 2016, lead-contaminated water is an issue for more than 5,300 water systems in the U.S., so Rao’s device could save a lot of time and money for both municipalities and residents. When Gitanjali Rao first heard about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, she wanted to help in any way she could.At only 12 years old, she became the proud inventor of “Tethys,” a portable device that detects lead in water. It turned out she had a lot more determination.”. It took several years, in which residents—including children—were turning up with mysterious rashes and other illnesses—before national attention to the crisis forced the city to admit it had a problem. Inspired by the Flint water crisis that happened in Michigan in 2014, Rao went on to give birth to her invention named Tethys. The seventh-grader from the suburb of Lone Tree, Colorado, realized that testing water for lead contamination was a rather complicated process and hence sought out to design a cheaper, more reliable and convenient method to do the same. Gitanjali is from Lone Tree, Colorado. Gitanjali Rao was recognized as America's Top Young Scientist and received an EPA Presidential award for inventing her device "Tethys"—an early lead detection tool. Gitanjali Rao. In it, the carbon nanotube cartridge is extremely sensitive to any changes in electron flow. The city of Flint disconnected from Detroit’s water line as a cost-cutting measure and began to draw water from the Flint River in April 2014. While it may seem unnecessary to create a new lead testing device, it turns out that testing for lead in the water is. 2 min read 6.7 K Shares. Enter one 11-year-old girl with a mind for science, Gitanjali Rao. Once Rao and nine others made it to the finalist round, they were paired with a scientist to help them take their idea from prototype to reality. "I had so many failures when I was doing my tests. Inspiration really struck after she watched her engineer parents test for lead in their own tap water, and decided to build a lead-detecting device that would be easy and affordable for anyone to use. "The other nine kids, they were also such amazing kids, so for her to stand out the way she did with a peer group like this is like an exclamation point on top of it. Gitanjali Rao, née le 19 novembre 2005, est une inventrice, scientifique et promotrice des disciplines STEM américaine. Shafer helped me so much throughout this whole journey. The book focuses on sharing a roadmap to innovation with a practical process for innovation and foolproof tips to compete in STEM and other contests. of the tap water, done by scientists at Virginia Tech found that the lead level in Flint homes was as high as 13,200 parts per billion (ppb). During the final competition, all ten finalists had to present their inventions to a panel of 3M scientists, which included school superintendents and administrators from across the country. While Rao comes by her own skills honestly, it helps that her parents are also engineers, and that she has been given access to STEM classes and lab at school. Though she lives in Lone Tree, Colorado, she was moved by the city’s plight, which she was introduced to in a school STEM lab, and through the news. Rao is also the inventor of “Epione”—a device for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using genetic engineering, and "Kindly"—an anti-cyberbullying service using AI and natural language processing. Tethys to ensure safe drinking water. "It's not hyperbole to say she really blew us out of the water," Brian Barnhart, a school superintendent in Illinois and one of the 3M judges, . The young Rao’s device, which she named “Tethys,” after the Greek goddess of water, is an ingenious arrangement of the following components: a disposable cartridge that holds chemically treated carbon nanotubes, an signal processor using the coding language Arduino with a Bluetooth attachment, and it links up to a smartphone app that displays the results. Elle remporte le Challenge Discovery 3M du jeune scientifique en 2017. "A Young Innovator's Guide to STEM" creates an innovation movement for anybody under the age of 18. It took several years, in which residents—including children—were turning up with mysterious rashes and other illnesses—before national attention to the crisis forced the city to admit it had a problem. She taught me to reach out and ask for help. The result won her $25,000 and the distinction as “America’s Top Young Scientist” in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Of course, getting her prototype required some tenacity and persistence on Rao’s part. And at home, Gitanjali asked her parents to create a “science room” in their Colorado home for her to do just that. Inspired by carbon nanotubes that are sensitive enough to detect toxic gases in the air, she realized she might be able to use similar technology to create a lead-detecting test for water. . But Rao showed herself to be more than up to the challenge, not only in her own invention, but throughout the judging process of the prize. Gitanjali is also the inventor of “Epione”—a device for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using … The book focuses on sharing a roadmap to innovation with a practical process for innovation and foolproof tips to compete in STEM and other contests. She helped me a lot with my experimentation plans and making sure I wasn’t immediately rushing to the next steps.”. Gitanjali Rao speaks onstage during The 2018 MAKERS Conference at NeueHouse Hollywood on February 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. “I started following the Flint water crisis two years ago when I was nine,” said Gitanjali Rao. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. Gitanjali Rao was recognized as Discovery Education 3M America’s Top Young Scientist in 2017 and received an EPA Presidential award for inventing her device “Tethys”—an early lead detection tool. 13-year-old Gitanjali Rao with her lead detection device named Tethys. During the selection process for TIME’s 2020 Kid of the Year you … Inspired by carbon nanotubes that are sensitive enough to detect toxic gases in the air, she realized she might be able to use similar technology to create a lead-detecting test for water. Fue reconocida como Forbes 30 U 30 por sus innovaciones. and can cost a lot of money and require multiple tests. Rao was paired with 3M scientist, Dr. Kathleen Shafer, whose focus is on developing new kinds of plastics. Rao told Rookie, “Dr. ?But 14-year-old Gitanjali Rao came up with a solution to this serious problem. Rao's invention is named Tethys, after the Greek Titan goddess of clean water. But Dr. Shafer encouraged me to reach out to college professors and high school teachers for either space to perform my tests or to ask a question related to my research.”, Rao is younger than most scientists as they begin their careers, but she has no plans to stop. To put that in perspective: Lead-contaminated water is classified as hazardous waste by the EPA at only 5,000 ppb. 15-Year Old Genius Gitanjali Rao Is Time Magazine's Kid Of The Year 2020. As of 2016, lead-contaminated water is an issue for more than. When you put the cartridge in clean water, there’s no change in the electron flow and the smartphone app will show that it’s all clear to drink (or bathe) in that water. Her … The nanotubes are then lined with atoms that are attracted to lead, which adds resistance as the electrons flow through, which can be measured. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. Before, I would hesitate to ask a question to someone whom I haven’t met before. Named after the Greek Goddess of fresh water, Tethys is the brainchild of Gitanjali Rao. "The other nine kids, they were also such amazing kids, so for her to stand out the way she did with a peer group like this is like an exclamation point on top of it.". Because it’s a sizable problem.’”, He added, “Then you go one day at a time. Rao was named America's top young scientist in 2017 and one of Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2019. Soon after, shockingly high levels of lead were found in the city's water supply. In her short life, she has used scientific creativity to address many real-world problems, like lead in drinking water, drug abuse, and bullying. While Flint’s water crisis has fallen out of the public news cycle, its residents are still living with the aftermath of an estimated 40 percent of homes that drank and bathed in dangerously lead-polluted water. Her father, Ram Rao, said, “We had to learn as she asked questions. There was no real expectation that she would necessarily finish, but the journey itself would be the learning experience. But Rao still had to invest a great deal of time and experimentation to get her prototype to the point where she could win the prize. in the U.S., so Rao’s device could save a lot of time and money for both municipalities and residents. You can adjust your cookie choices in those tools at any time. “I learned to be diligent and persistent from Dr. Shafer. "A Young Innovator's Guide to STEM" creates an innovation movement for anybody under the age of 18. The result won her $25,000 and the distinction as “America’s Top Young Scientist” in the, Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, “When I saw my parents testing for lead in our water, I immediately realized that using test strips would take quite a few tries in order to get accurate results and I really wanted to do something to change this, not only for my parents but for the residents of Flint and places like Flint around the world,”. Gitanjali Rao (born 19 November 2005) is an Indian-American inventor, author, scientist and engineer, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics promoter.She won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017, and was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 for her innovations. ", , “Dr. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan inspired Gitanjali Rao to use Android tech to create Tethys, a device that detects lead in drinking water. 11-year-old girl with a mind for science, Gitanjali Rao. Shafer helped me so much throughout this whole journey. Rao was recognized as America's Top Young Scientist and received an EPA presidential award for inventing her device "Tethys"—an early lead detection tool. Gitanjali Rao, jeune scientifique et inventrice indo-américaine est, à 15 ans, la première personne à remporter le prix « Enfant de l’année » décerné par la revue Time. Gitanjali was named as America’s Top Young Scientist when she invented Tethys, a device that detects lead contamination in water, in … Gitanjali Rao, 12, of Lone Tree has created a quick and economical way to test for lead in water - Tethys - and earned the title of America's Top Young Scientist. She helped me a lot with my experimentation plans and making sure I wasn’t immediately rushing to the next steps.”. Rao is younger than most scientists as they begin their careers, but she has no plans to stop. To put that in perspective: Lead-contaminated water is classified as hazardous waste by the EPA at only 5,000 ppb. Gitanjali Raos Eltern Bharathi und Ram Rao stammen aus Indien. She always listened to my failures and provided me alternate paths to keep moving ahead. In this case, the app will show that the water is not safe to drink. Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News Gitanjali Rao (Lone Tree, Colorado, 24 de noviembre de 2005) es una inventora, autora, científica y promotora de CTIM estadounidense.Ganó el Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge en 2017. She lit on a method during her weekly browse of the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s website. And she already has some advice for other scientists who wish to follow in her footsteps: "Advice I would give to other kids would be to never be afraid to try," Gitanjali said. Her device, called Tethys, detects lead in water faster than anything else available in the market today. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. Gitanjali Rao, who competed in a distinguished science competition in the United States, won the 3M-sponsored science competition and was awarded the title of … “I was appalled by the number of people affected by lead contamination in water and I wanted to do something to change this,” she, Inspiration really struck after she watched her engineer parents test for lead in their own tap water, and decided to build a lead-detecting device that would be easy and affordable for anyone to use. In den vergangenen Jahren erfand Rao Techniken in mehreren Bereichen: So entwickelte sie mit zwölf Jahren ein kostengünstiges mobiles Gerät, das den Bleigehalt in Trinkwasser anzeigt. Tethys, Gitanjali Rao's lead … For Gitanjali Rao, her hobby was a bit more specific. The Birth of Tethys. Still studying in 8th standard, and based in the US, 12-year-old Gitanjali Rao has invented a nanotechnology sensor-based water tester to detect dangerous lead contamination in drinking water. See details. Though she lives in Lone Tree, Colorado, she was moved by the city’s plight, which she was introduced to in a school STEM lab, and through the news. At its worst point, a report of the tap water, done by scientists at Virginia Tech found that the lead level in Flint homes was as high as 13,200 parts per billion (ppb). she “spent months trying to convince local high schools and colleges to give her lab time to continue her experiment.”. She lit on a method during her weekly browse of the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s website. Elle a 15 ans et vient de faire la couverture de Time Magazine. It was frustrating the first couple of times, but towards the end, everything started coming together. Gitanjali Rao is a sophomore and avid inventor from STEM School Highlands Ranch in Douglas County, Colorado. Of course, getting her prototype required some tenacity and persistence on Rao’s part. ", Gitanjali Rao speaks onstage during The 2018 MAKERS Conference at NeueHouse Hollywood on February 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Rao’s device, which she named “Tethys,” after the Greek goddess of water, is an ingenious arrangement of the following components: a disposable cartridge that holds chemically treated carbon nanotubes, an signal processor using the coding language Arduino with a Bluetooth attachment, and it links up to a smartphone app that displays the results. While the system sounds simple, it is quite a feat of engineering, especially for an 11-year-old. But if the water is contaminated with lead, the water will react to the atoms, creating that resistance, or slowing, in the electron flow that the Arduino processor will be able to measure. 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