Last summer, middle schooler Tina Jin was alarmed to learn that over 2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water.
With her heart set on finding a solution, Jin found inspiration in an unlikely place: on her dinner plate, in the tiny, porous holes of leftover bones.
“I realized that once we bought meat at the grocery store, there was about half of the meat that was actually just animal bone and we couldn’t use,” The 13-year-old told Society for Science, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding STEM programs to kids across the country.
“130 billion kilograms of animal bones are produced worldwide each year.”
After inspiration struck, Jin spent the last year perfecting a dual solution that would reduce excessive bone waste — and increase access to clean drinking water.
For months, she saved bones from family dinners and tested their honeycomb-like structures to create a natural water filtration system.
Over time, she refined the homemade invention by grinding smaller bones up into a powder and straining it all through the portable filter made from discarded bones and household supplies.
“My project was able to develop a method that turned dirty, contaminated water into water that was safe for drinking…utilizing animal bones and household materials to make it nearly zero cost and easily accessible,” Jin explained.
Upon applying for the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovator Challenge — a five-day STEM competition funded by Society for Science — Jin was selected as one of 30 middle school finalists.
In late October, Jin flew to Washington, D.C. to take part in the array of student challenges and demonstrate her filtration device to the judges.
After third-party testing by the San Jose Water Company showed that her filter successfully achieved potable standards, Jin took home the competition’s top award — and the $25,000 cash prize.
“Tina’s scientific ingenuity — coupled with her exceptional leadership, collaboration and critical thinking skills — illustrate what we are looking for in the Thermo Fisher JIC,” praised Maya Ajmera, President & CEO of Society for Science. “I look forward to seeing how Tina continues to innovate in the years to come.”
Jin was grinning ear to ear as she took the stage to accept the ASCEND (Aspiring Scientists Cultivating Exciting New Discoveries) Award.
“I was just so shocked, and I felt so happy,” Jin told Society for Science, while clutching her newly won award. “I want to partner with bigger organizations and I hope to be able to see people filter water using my method.”
When it comes to encouraging other young people to explore STEM, Jin says to just go for it.
“If you find something that you think can solve a problem, go pursue it,” Jin encouraged, “because chances are you’re finding something that can help save the world.”
Header image courtesy of Shane Adams / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
