Deepika Kurup: Solar photocatalytic water purifier
Solar photocatalytic water purifier.
On visits to her grandparents in India, Kurup saw children drinking water that looked too dirty to touch. Her answer was a composite of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide bound in cement that, under sunlight, generates reactive species that kill bacteria; a later version used sand, cement and silver nitrate and reported inactivating coliform bacteria in about 15 minutes of sun. She won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2012 at 14 and later founded Catalyst for World Water.
IP note
US 10,183,277 B2 (2019) and US 10,751,702 B2 (2020); original 2013 application abandoned and carried forward.
Recognition
3M Young Scientist 2012; Forbes 30 Under 30.
What this means for a student inventor in India
[Editor: 120–200 words connecting this story to the Indian route — Section 6 (any true inventor may apply), provisional vs complete specification, disclosure at fairs (Section 31), renewals, and who owns what when a school is involved. Link to the relevant MYCrave guide.]
Related young innovators
- Boyan Slat — The Ocean Cleanup
- Gitanjali Rao — Tethys
- Param Jaggi — Algae Mobile
Sources
[Editor: list the 2–4 primary sources from the research notes for this entry, with the date checked.]
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