Deepika Kurup realized her calling during a family trip to India, while watching a group of children drink from a pool of stagnant water. The water looked, “so dirty she wouldn’t even touch it,” and from that moment forward, Deepika committed to finding a solution to end the global water crisis.
Now, a student at Harvard, she’s one of the of the honorees at the 6th White House Science Fair and she’s showing how one person can go the extra mile to preserve the planet for future generations.
Teen #scientist Deepika Kurup invents cheap, sustainable #water#purification#system#Keralahttp://t.co/ZRxPGdAna4pic.twitter.com/PAiyELarN4
— keralaeditor (@keralaeditor) October 7, 2015
So far she has made phenomenal progress. At 14, she developed a solar-powered purification system in her family’s backyard, a prototype that won her a USD $5,000 award from The Discovery Education Young Scientist Challenge. Her invention, which uses silver and other materials to quickly remove bacteria from water—at a fraction of the cost of other methods—caught the sight of President Obama in 2012. When Obama met Deepika in 2012 during his presidential campaign tour, he asked if was interested in becoming an advocate for getting teens interested in science and research.
Of course she said yes!
#175faces Deepika Kurup created her first water purification system at just 14 years old https://t.co/V8n7YpA48Vpic.twitter.com/sd4Y8soJ41
— RSC Newsroom (@RSC_Newsroom) February 24, 2016
Deepika, and other young innovators, researchers and global citizens know that solutions to big problems can be achieved with the help of a support system. Deepika credits her family, and especially her younger sister, for being there for her.
Deepika has no plans of slowing down. Last year she was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 and she competed at the Google Science Fair. In the years ahead, Deepika wants to go to medical school where she’ll continue to work toward her dream of improving access to water.
Deepika Kurup saw poor conditions kids lived in without access to drinking water. She invented a water purifier. pic.twitter.com/2g3G86sL7T
— HT Paathshala (@HTPaathshala) October 19, 2015
Deepika dreams big and wants to help heal the problems of the planet. She shows that young people are ready to confront the problems of today and create solutions for a better tomorrow.