75% of the earth is clean water, but guess how much of that isavailable for human consumption? Less than 1%!
Out of this 1%, in cities like Bangalore we are constantly creating pretty white foam on lakes and then setting them afire. The result is that Bangalore now has the world’s first flammable lake! Considering that freshwater is scarce and humans are not really helping in keeping it safe and unpolluted, 14 year olds have taken over to ensure that there is a solution.
Deepika Kurup is an American student scientist of Indian origin; her quest for clean water started when as a young girl visiting India, she saw people standing in long lines to collect water from taps. The water she found was not clean and not suitable for consumption. She then began researching on sustainable and cheaper methods of water purification.
She not only succeeded but went on to win numerous awards in science for her achievements. She is the recipient of the 2012 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Award and was recognised as ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’. Deepika was awarded $25,000 for her work in developing a new and inexpensive method to clean water using solar power. What started as a science fair project went on to become an award winning sustainable method.
Her journey was not easy; as a 14 year old she did not have access to state of the art laboratory but she did manage to create a makeshift one in her parents’ garage. She is an advocate of STEM education and believes that STEM has the power to bring about real change.
Deepika Kurup is currently the CEO for Catalyst for World Water. You go girl, more power to you!
To know more about her method, watch this inspiring TED talk by Deepika Kurup: http://www.ted.com/talks/deepika_kurup_a_young_scientist_s_quest_for_clean_water
Written by Niki PK