Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old Indian-American scientist and inventor, was named Time Magazine’s first-ever Kid of the Year. The US-based publication announced the award Thursday, citing her ability to use technology to “tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying”.
Rao, who was featured on the cover of the latest edition of the magazine, was selected from a pool of over 5,000 nominees. In an interview with actor and activist Angelina Jolie, the Colorado teenager spoke about her innovations and shared a message for other young people: “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
This is not the first time Rao has been recognised for her work. In 2017, she won praise when she created a device called ‘Tehys’ that used carbon nanotube sensors to detect lead in water in response to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
She later joined hands with scientists in the water industry to release her device in the market and was also named ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’ for her invention. In 2019, she earned a spot on Forbes’ prestigious 30 under 30 list for her invention.
“I was like 10 when I told my parents that I wanted to research carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water quality research lab, and my mom was like, ‘A what?’,” Rao told Jolie. “It was just that changing factor of, you know this work is going to be in our generation’s hands pretty soon. So if no one else is gonna do it, I’m gonna do it.”
(Source:IE)
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What a great story. America for whatever some especially from Muslim countries like to call a nasty superpower meddling in others affairs is proving again to be nothing like that having seen Time magazine cover of this young Indian American teenager inventing great things. America is a land of opportunity and all Indians around the world should be proud as this is what immigrant parents must inspire their kids. With the recent influx of immigrants from war-torn Afghanistan and Syria to Europe, many terrorist sympathisers among them have a narrative that dictates opposite to what Gitanjali Rao’s parents did whilst settling in a western democracy. Well done Gitanjali