Gitanjali Rao, an 11-year-old from Lone Tree, has been named the winner of the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. The winning invention: Tethys, a sensor-based device that detects lead in water.
The annual Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is for students in grades 5-8, from all across the country. They are invited to create a one- to two-minute video that describes an innovative solution to an everyday problem. From there, 10 finalists are chosen and invited to work at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. They work with a 3M scientist to bring their technologies to life, before presenting their inventions to a panel of judges in a live competition. The winner receives a $25,000 prize and the opportunity to attend a taping of a Discovery Network show. This year's winner: 11-year-old Gitanjali Rao from Lone Tree. The sixth grader from STEM School & Academy won for her sensor that detects lead levels in water at a much faster rate than traditional methods -- which are time-consuming and not entirely accurate, not to mention expensive. [gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="25695,25693"]
Gitanjali said that she was inspired by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. "I had been following the Flint, Michigan, issue for about two years," she told ABC News. "I was appalled by the number of people affected by lead contamination in water and I wanted to do something to change this."
After browsing the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering's website, she found a way to solve the issue and, with the help of her parents, created Tethys. Named after the Greek goddess for water, Tethys uses nanotube sensors to detect lead in water. The device connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and sends the results almost immediately.
[caption id="attachment_25698" align="aligncenter" width="465"]
photo courtesy of Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge (Andy King).[/caption]
The young scientist hopes to become either a geneticist or epidemiologist when she grows up. Lead contamination was interesting to her because it combines both disciplines. "I studied a little bit of both of these topics since I was really invested in these fields, and then I came up with this device to help save lives."
Below is Gitanjali's submission video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UR6epdce-o
Congratulations, Gitanjali! We can't wait to see where your passions take you next! For more information on the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, you can visit its website.
