In 2015, the city of Flint, Michigan, had a problem. Its pipes were releasing the chemical lead into the city’s drinking water. Lead can cause serious health problems. The crisis horrified Gitanjali Rao, a 13-year-old girl from Colorado. She was inspired to find a way to help.
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Lead Detector
Ni ‘Joye’ Zhu/Flintwaterstudy.org
Kathryn Scott/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Rao invented a device to detect lead in water after the crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Over several years, Rao designed a device to cheaply test water. The device is called Tethys (TEH-thuhs). It contains small tubes made of carbon, a chemical element. The tubes are fitted with atoms, tiny particles of matter, that react if lead is present. The results are sent to a smartphone.
Rao has won several awards for her work. She’s now hoping to sell Tethys so that people can check whether their drinking water is safe. “The purpose of science is to make a difference,” Rao says.
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