11-Year-Old, Inspired by the Flint Water Crisis, Wins Scientist Challenge

She won $25,000 for her invention.

Gitanjali Rao, from Colorado, recently won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. She has developed a system that tests for lead in water faster than any other device that currently exists.

“I had been following the Flint, Michigan, issue for about two years,” she told ABC News. “I was appalled by the number of people affected by lead contamination in water and I wanted to do something to change this.”

She worked on the project in her "science room" that her parents built for her in their home. She was named as one of the 10 finalists and was partnered with 3M to create her invention. It's called Tethys, and it uses carbon nanotube sensors to detect lead in water and then sends the results to a smartphone app.

Congratulations! And thanks for thinking of our city ;)