11-year-old Indian-American schoolgirl Gitanjali Rao has been named as “America’s top young scientist”.
- She is awarded for inventing a cost-effective, quick lead-contamination detector in water.
- She was worried by the large-scale lead contamination in water in Flint, Michigan.
- She won $25,000 for taking the top position at the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
- The portable device invented by Rao uses carbon nanotubes to detect lead contamination.
- She named Tethys after the Greek goddess of fresh water.
- The device allows a sensor linked to a mobile app to deliver accurate and quick analysis of the water sample.
