Être’s Interview with Gitanjali Rao

2017 Winner of the 3M Young Scientist Challenge!

Ê: You're the 2017 Young Scientist Challenge winner and you were in the 6th grade when you entered it...exactly our age! How old were you when you first began thinking about a mobile app for lead detection in water and who did you initially approach about the project? Were you nervous they wouldn't listen to you?

G: I was originally inspired by the Flint Water Crisis after being introduced to it through a STEM lab and by watching the news. I was 9 years old at that time, and I continued to research and follow it for the next couple years. I then saw my parents testing for lead in water at home, and that is pretty much what sparked the idea of using technology to solve the problem. Using test strips and sending them to labs was time-consuming, inaccurate and expensive. I really wanted to do something to change this, not just for my family but for the residents of Flint and places like it around the world. I heard about carbon nanotube sensors being able to detect hazardous gas in the air, so I decided to use a similar CNT based sensor to detect lead in water. I further extended it to connect to a mobile app for displaying the results! I was a bit nervous about working with relatively new and harmful materials, such as carbon nanotubes and lead. However, my parents and teacher helped me follow appropriate safety procedures and conduct my research.

Ê: Did you have one mentor throughout the process or did a number of people help you? What advice do you have for girls our age about finding a mentor and/or being a role model for younger kids interested in STEM?

G: I had several STEM lab managers (4H club, STEM Scouts, and a few more) who introduced me to the challenge and encouraged me to enter the contest. Once I was selected as one of the finalists, I was introduced to Dr. Kathleen Shafer, a 3M Scientist. She guided me in making my idea a reality. Throughout the whole process, I reached out to experts in the materials science and nanotechnology field to get more information about my idea. My teachers at STEM School Highlands Ranch helped me by providing access to a safe high school lab, a 3D printer and guiding me with creating a mobile app. My advice for finding mentors is to create a plan of study or research in whatever field you are passionate about, and reach out to experts or professionals in that field. I initially was nervous about reaching out to experts and professors, but this experience made me realize that the worst answer you may get is a “no.” So, why not try? I always asked my mentors their expectation of a mentee and consciously made sure that I met their expectations, if not exceed it. In the case of being a role model, I always took every opportunity that came my way to talk to Lego league teams or Robotics teams to provide feedback on their ideas, help them with the process of defining solutions or to just share my journey. I recently helped a five-yearold little scientist team to come up with a problem and solve for a science contest. It was an awesome experience, and they had better solutions than I would have ever thought of! I learned a lot from them about thinking out of the box.

Ê: You said on the Young Scientist website that in 15 years you hope to be a geneticist and find cures for painful diseases. What do you think is the most pressing disease that we need to cure and do you think this is possible to do in our lifetime?

G: There are many diseases that come to my mind where genetic engineering can help. These include certain types of cancers and disorders such as down syndrome and muscular dystrophy. I believe that with recent developments in gene editing and nanotechnology that some, if not all, of these diseases can definitely be cured in our lifetime. There is already active research in preventing or curing diseases, such as Lou Gehrig’s, using gene manipulation technology. CRISPR, gene editing, and other promising techniques, powered by nanotechnology, are offering hope that we are probably much closer to completely curing fatal or debilitating diseases.

We can’t wait to see what’s next for Gitanjali!