Gitanjali Rao (inventor) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gitanjali Rao
Gitanjali Rao in 2020
Born	2005 (age 19–20) Ohio, U.S.
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (currently enrolled)
Known for	Water lead-level measuring device (2018)
Awards	Time's 2020 Kid of the Year Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge (2017)

Gitanjali Rao is an amazing American inventor, author, and social activist. She is also a big supporter of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education.

Gitanjali won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017. She was also featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 for her cool inventions. In 2020, Time magazine named her their top young innovator. She was even on the cover of Time and became their first "Kid of the Year" on December 4, 2020.

About Gitanjali

Gitanjali Rao has Indian family roots. She loves listening to Indian classical music. In 2018, she lived in Lone Tree, Colorado. She went to STEM School Highlands Ranch.

Gitanjali is very interested in studying genetics (how traits are passed down) and epidemiology (how diseases spread). She is currently doing research at the University of Colorado.

Gitanjali's Inventions

Gitanjali has created several important inventions. She uses science and technology to solve real-world problems.

Tethys: Testing Water for Lead

Gitanjali's interest in science started early. Her uncle gave her a science kit when she was just 4 years old. When she was 10, she learned about the Flint water crisis from the news. This was a big problem where lead got into the drinking water.

She wanted to find a way to easily check for lead in water. So, she used a tool called App Inventor to create a device called Tethys. This device uses tiny carbon nanotubes. These tubes can detect lead and send information about water quality using Bluetooth.

Gitanjali worked with a scientist from 3M to develop Tethys. In 2017, she won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her invention. She received $25,000 to help her continue her work.

Tethys has a 9-volt battery, a special part to sense lead, a Bluetooth connection, and a processor. The carbon nanotubes in Tethys change their electrical resistance when lead is present. Gitanjali learned about carbon nanotubes by reading the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) website. She hopes to work with scientists and doctors to make Tethys a useful tool for everyone.

She shared her idea at the 2018 MAKERS Conference. There, she raised another $25,000 for her project. As of January 2019, she was working with the Denver water facility. She planned to have a working model within two years.

Epione: Detecting Opioids

Gitanjali also created a portable medical device called Epione. This device can look at a sample and find high levels of proteins. These proteins are linked to high levels of opioids. Opioids are strong pain medicines that can be dangerous if misused.

Kindly: Stopping Cyberbullying

Gitanjali developed an app called "Kindly." This app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to find signs of cyberbullying very early on. Cyberbullying is when someone is bullied online.

She has partnered with UNICEF, a global organization that helps children. Together, they plan to make the "Kindly" app available around the world.

Other Amazing Work

Gitanjali is a three-time speaker at TEDx events. She loves to share her passion for STEM with others. She has given over 200 talks and workshops in more than 40 countries.

She leads innovation workshops for students all over the world. She works with after-school clubs, schools, science museums, and other groups. Her goal is to teach K-12 students how to solve problems using science and technology.

As of 2020^[update], Gitanjali was a member of Scouts. She joined the Scouting STEM program in the United States.

In 2021, Gitanjali published her first book, Young Inventor's Guide to STEM. This book explains her 5-step process for solving problems. Parts of her book are now used in schools in Kenya and Uganda.

In 2023, Gitanjali started studying at MIT. She also earned her pilot's license! In 2024, she plans to publish her second book, A Young Innovators Guide to Planning For Success.

During the summer of 2024, Gitanjali plans to do research at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. She will work on creating new types of vaccines that release slowly over time.

Awards and Recognition

Gitanjali has received many awards for her inventions and work.

• In 2017, she won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
• The Middle Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America named her their STEM Scout of the Year in 2017.
• In 2018, she received the United States Environmental Protection Agency President's Environmental Youth Award.
• In 2019, she was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 in the science category.
• In 2020, Time named her the top young innovator. She was also the first person ever to be named Time magazine's Kid of the Year.
• In 2021, she was honored as a Laureate at the Young Activists Summit at UN Geneva.

See also

In Spanish: Gitanjali Rao para niños