At 11 years old, Gitanjali Rao was crowned ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’. After learning about the Flint Water crisis, Gitanjali became concerned with lead in the drinking water. She did more research and found out that about 5,000 water systems in the US have issues with lead contamination. That’s when she designed the small, mobile device that tests for lead in drinking water. She named her invention Tethys, after the Greek goddess of clean water. Now she’s getting help from scientists in the water industry to create a prototype that could eventually be sold.

Lab manager at Denver Water, Selene Hernandez-Ruiz has partnered with Gitanjali to test and improve her device. According to NPR, Selene is excited to “help a young woman of color foster a passion for science.”

Sources:
Colorado Public Radio

NPR