Colorado student and scientist named “ Kid of the Year ” by Time

LONE TREE, Colo. (AP) – A 15-year-old high school student and young scientist from Colorado who has used artificial intelligence and created apps to fight contaminated drinking water, cyberbullying, opioid addiction and other issues Social was named first by Time Magazine – ever “Kid of the Year”.

Gitanjali Rao, a sophomore at STEM School Highlands Ranch in suburban Denver and living in the town of Lone Tree, was selected from over 5,000 nominees in a process that culminated in a committee of child finalists, Time for Kids journalists and comedian Trevor Noah.

Rao told The Associated Press in an interview with Zoom from his home on Friday that the award was “nothing I could have imagined. And I’m so grateful and so excited that we are really looking at the next generation and our generation because the future is in our hands.

The time said in a press release that, along with Nickelodeon, he wanted to recognize “the rising leaders of the youngest American generation” by giving the award. For 92 years, Time has featured a “Person of the Year,” and the youngest of all time was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was 16 when she made the cover of the year magazine. last.

Time said Rao stands out for creating a global community of young innovators and inspiring them to pursue their goals. Rao insists that starting small doesn’t matter, as long as you are passionate about it.

Rao’s innovation started early. When she was 12, she developed a portable device to detect lead in water.

She created a device called Epione that diagnoses prescription opioid addiction at an early stage. She has also designed an app called Kindly that uses artificial intelligence to help prevent cyberbullying. It lets teens type a word or phrase to find out if the words they are using are bullying and lets them decide whether to change what they send or continue.

“And currently I’m looking back on the water, looking at moving things like parasitic compounds in the water and how we can detect that,” Rao said after a day of remote schooling.

She told Time actress, activist and editor-in-chief Angelina Jolie in an interview with Zoom that her science activities started early as a way to improve social conditions. The drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, inspired her work to develop a way to detect contaminants and send those results to a cell phone, she said.

“I was about 10 years old when I told my parents I wanted to research carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water Quality Research Lab, and my mom told me. said: “To what? Rao said to Jolie. She said the work “will soon be in the hands of our generation. So if no one else wants to do it, I will.

Sensor technology involves molecules of carbon atoms capable of sensing chemical changes, including chemicals in water.

Rao has established a partnership with rural schools; museums; scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical organizations; and other institutions to organize innovation workshops for thousands of other students.

In a world where science is increasingly called into question or questioned, Rao insisted that its pursuit is an essential act of kindness, the best way for a young generation to make the world better. Science and technology are being used like never before to fight the coronavirus pandemic, global warming and a host of other issues, she noted.

“We have science in everything we’re involved in, and I think that’s the most important thing to put forward, that science is cool, innovating is cool, and anyone can be a innovative, ”said Rao. “Anyone Can Do Science.”

Time was planning a Kid of the Year special at 7:30 p.m. EST (5:30 p.m. MST) on Nickelodeon.