The 13-Year-Old From Odisha Who Won the Google Science Fair (2015)

In September 2015, Sripada Srisai Lalita Prasida, a 13-year-old student from Odisha, won the prestigious Community Impact Award at the global Google Science Fair in the 13–15 age category. A Class 9 student at DPS Damanjodi in Koraput district, Prasida was awarded a USD 10,000 grant and an ongoing mentorship opportunity from Google.

Purifying Water With Agricultural Waste

Prasida's award-winning project tackled two critical problems at once: water contamination and agricultural waste management. Inspired by a conversation with a local tribal farmer about discarded corn cobs, she developed an affordable, multi-stage water filtration mechanism based on the principle of adsorption.

Her system used layered arrangements of corn cob slices, crushed granules, fine powder, activated corn-cob charcoal, and sand. Laboratory testing showed that this bio-waste structure could remove 70 to 80 percent of domestic and industrial contaminants, including suspended solids, coloured dyes, detergents, grease, oil, and select heavy metals.

Long-Term Significance

Prasida proposed deploying corn-cob filters in household drain pipes, industrial effluent outlets, and rural ponds using submerged bamboo frames. Her innovative project highlighted how low-cost, locally sourced materials can solve pressing environmental challenges in developing regions.