Gitanjali Rao, 13, with her lead detector named Tethys. Rao was named America’s Best Young Scientist in 2017 and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2019.
Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News
hide caption
toggle caption
Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News
Gitanjali Rao, 13, with her lead detector named Tethys. Rao was named America’s Best Young Scientist in 2017 and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2019.
Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News
Gitanjali Rao is already on the Forbes 30 under 30 2019 and she hasn’t even gotten to high school yet.
In 2017, the 11-year-old from Lone Tree, Colorado, was named “The best young American scientist” for the design of a small mobile device to test the presence of lead in drinking water.
Rao didn’t stop there. She now has help from water scientists to create a working prototype of the device that could eventually be commercialized.
Rao’s invention is called Tethys, after the Greek Goddess Titan of clean water. The 3D printed box is about the size of a deck of cards and contains a battery, Bluetooth and carbon nanotubes. Rao came up with the idea after reading how similar technology could detect dangerous gases in the air. His immediate reaction was, “Why not use carbon nanotube sensors to detect lead in water?” »
THE Flint water crisis was the motivation behind the invention.
Rao remembers watching his parents try to test their drinking water with a test strip kit at home. The results seemed inconclusive and unreliable. The other option was to send a water sample to a laboratory.
“(Tethys) is aimed at people who don’t really know what’s in their water coming from the pipes leading to their house. My target market right now is people living in their homes as well as in schools “Rao said.
Here’s how it works: Carbon atoms bond in a beehive shape and connect to create a tube: a nanotube. Carbon nanotubes respond to changes in electron flow. If there is lead in the water, the lead sticks to the carbon ions, creating resistance. Tethys measures this resistance and sends the data to a smartphone application to provide the status of lead in the water.
Denver Water lab manager Selene Hernandez-Ruiz teamed up with Rao to test and improve his device. The two began working together after Rao was invited to tour Denver Water’s facilities.
Rao is working with Dr. Selena Hernandez-Ruiz, lab manager at Denver Water, to create a prototype of her lead detection device.
Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News
hide caption
toggle caption
Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News
Rao is working with Dr. Selena Hernandez-Ruiz, lab manager at Denver Water, to create a prototype of her lead detection device.
Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News
Hernandez-Ruiz told Rao she could come back if she wanted to use the lab. The 13-year-old was hooked: “I asked, can I come here, like, every day?”
Hernandez-Ruiz and Rao meet about once a month to work on the device and test its results.
“Right now, I’m studying interference with other chemicals in water besides lead,” Rao said. “What if (the carbon) accidentally binds to the fluoride? So that’s kind of what I’m trying to tackle.”
Hernandez-Ruiz is excited to help a young woman of color develop a passion for science.
“It’s so encouraging to see the current generation and the next generation getting started,” she said. “With a real desire to excel and test those limits that we’re sometimes told we’re not supposed to get near.”
Rao is grateful for the opportunity Denver Water gave her to continue working on her device.
“My mother doesn’t let me use lead in our garden,” Rao said with a laugh. “It gives me the potential to take (Tethys) there. I know my device can be accurate.”
Rao hopes to release a prototype to the world within the next two years. In the meantime, she fills her inventor’s notebook with new ideas.
