Gitanjali Rao

Gitanjali Rao, a young inventor, STEM advocate, and TIME’s first-ever Kid of the Year, who has been using science to confront some of the world’s toughest challenges since the age of 10.

Rao is a student of Bioengineering and Business Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology - she recently completed an internship at Moderna, the biotech company known for its COVID vaccine.

Her journey as an inventor began in 2014, when the city of Flint (in Michigan, US) switched its water supply to the Flint River. The water wasn’t properly treated, causing lead from aging pipes to seep into the drinking water. This health crisis inspired Rao to invent Tethys, a device that quickly detects lead in water.

Rao went on to develop Epione, a tool for early diagnosis of opioid addiction, and Kindly, an AI-powered service against cyberbullying that is now adopted globally by UNICEF.

By age 15, Rao had already been named to Forbes 30 Under 30, recognized as a National Geographic Young Explorer, and honored as TIME’s Top Young Innovator and Kid of the Year. She has also authored “Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM”, which is now used worldwide in classrooms and refugee camps.

It’s incredible to see how much Gitanjali has achieved at such a young age - I can’t wait to see what she does next.