In March we were honored to have Gitanjali Rao, TIME magazine's first ever "Kid of the Year," as the guest speaker for our noon meeting! She spoke about her astonishing work using technology to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying, and about her mission to create a global community of young innovators to solve problems the world over. “Observe, brainstorm, research, build and communicate to find your inner innovator.” Her brilliant mind and generous spirit shone through, along with her inspiring message to other young people: don’t try to fix every problem, just focus on one that excites you.
“If I can do it,” she said, “anybody can do it.”
Gitanjali was honored as Forbes “30 Under 30 in Science” in 2019 and TIME’s “Top Young Innovator” and "Kid of the Year" for her innovations and STEM workshops she conducts globally, which has inspired over thirty-eight thousand students in the last two years across four continents.Gitanjali Rao has also been recognized as America's Top Young Scientist and received an EPA Presidential award for inventing her device "Tethys"—an early lead detection tool. Gitanjali is the inventor of “Epione”—a device for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using genetic engineering, and "Kindly"—an anti-cyberbullying service using AI and Natural Language processing.
A Lone Tree, Colorado resident and STEM School Highlands Ranch student, Gitanjali’s mission is to create a global community of young innovators to solve world problems.
Gitanjali Rao, innovator and America’s Top Young Scientist, brings to you an interactive experience to help immerse students in the process of innovation. Recognized by ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and Marvel’s Hero Project, the accomplished author builds on her experiences and provides a prescriptive step-by-step process for identifying problems and developing solutions. A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM strives to impact students, teachers, and educators to adapt to a new learning style—one that can have a positive impact on society.
Gitanjali's book A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM is avalailable for purchase through these vendors:
The Highlands Ranch Rotary Foundation and club members will be donating in Miss Rao’s name to a non profit of her choice. If you would like to contribute additional funding in honor of Gitanjali, please contact Shrin Murthy at shrin.murthy@gmail.com 952-239-1263