Siyaa Poddar: Colour-Changing Detectors for Silica and Uranium Dust
Colour-Changing Detectors for Silica and Uranium Dust.
Siyaa Poddar created low-cost detectors for airborne silica and uranium, pollutants associated with abandoned mines and serious community health risks. Her approach stabilised colour-changing detection chemicals inside metal-organic frameworks, creating a potentially faster and more accessible way to indicate hazardous dust. The project connected material science with environmental justice, particularly for communities near contaminated mining areas.
Innovation mindset: The best detector is not only scientifically accurate; it must also be affordable, fast and simple enough to reach the communities carrying the greatest risk.
Official project title: Developing a Rapid, Colorimetric Metal Organic Framework (MOF) for Airborne Silica and Uranium Detection: A Novel Approach to Pollutant Monitoring and Health Risk Assessment in Indigenous Communities for Sjogren's Syndrome (Materials Science).
IP note
No public IP record; any filing made around the May 2025 fair would not yet be published under the 18-month rule — register check due from late 2026.
Recognition
Regeneron ISEF 2025 — First Award ($6,000); Regeneron Young Scientist Award ($75,000).
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
- Deepika Kurup — Solar photocatalytic water purifier
Sources
[Editor: list the 2–4 primary sources from the research notes for this entry, with the date checked.]
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