TEDWomen 2016
Deepika Kurup: A young scientist's quest for clean water
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Deepika Kurup has been determined to solve the global water crisis since she was 14 years old, after she saw kids outside her grandparents' house in India drinking water that looked too dirty even to touch. Her research began in her family kitchen -- and eventually led to a major science prize. Hear how this teenage scientist developed a cost-effective, eco-friendly way to purify water.
Deepika Kurup - Inventor, student scientist
Water is the basis of life, and too many people around the world suffer from waterborne illnesses. Deepika Kurup is working to change that. Full bio
Water is the basis of life, and too many people around the world suffer from waterborne illnesses. Deepika Kurup is working to change that. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Every summer, my family and I
travel across the world,
travel across the world,
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3,000 miles away
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to the culturally diverse
country of India.
country of India.
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Now, India is a country infamous
for its scorching heat and humidity.
for its scorching heat and humidity.
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For me, the only relief from this heat
is to drink plenty of water.
is to drink plenty of water.
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Now, while in India,
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my parents always remind me
to only drink boiled or bottled water,
to only drink boiled or bottled water,
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because unlike here in America,
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where I can just turn on a tap
and easily get clean, potable water,
and easily get clean, potable water,
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in India, the water is often contaminated.
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So my parents have to make sure
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that the water we drink is safe.
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However, I soon realized
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that not everyone is fortunate enough
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to enjoy the clean water we did.
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Outside my grandparents' house
in the busy streets of India,
in the busy streets of India,
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I saw people standing in long lines
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under the hot sun
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filling buckets with water from a tap.
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I even saw children,
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who looked the same age as me,
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filling up these clear plastic bottles
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with dirty water
from streams on the roadside.
from streams on the roadside.
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Watching these kids
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forced to drink water
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that I felt was too dirty to touch
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changed my perspective on the world.
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This unacceptable social injustice
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compelled me to want to find a solution
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to our world's clean water problem.
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I wanted to know
why these kids lacked water,
why these kids lacked water,
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a substance that is essential for life.
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And I learned that we are facing
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a global water crisis.
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Now, this may seem surprising,
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as 75 percent of our planet
is covered in water,
is covered in water,
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but only 2.5 percent
of that is freshwater,
of that is freshwater,
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and less than one percent
of Earth's freshwater supply
of Earth's freshwater supply
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is available for human consumption.
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With rising populations,
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industrial development
and economic growth,
and economic growth,
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our demand for clean water is increasing,
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yet our freshwater resources
are rapidly depleting.
are rapidly depleting.
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According to the
World Health Organization,
World Health Organization,
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660 million people in our world
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lack access to a clean water source.
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Lack of access to clean water
is a leading cause of death
is a leading cause of death
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in children under the age of five
in developing countries,
in developing countries,
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and UNICEF estimates that 3,000 children
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die every day from
a water-related disease.
a water-related disease.
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So after returning home
one summer in eighth grade,
one summer in eighth grade,
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I decided that I wanted
to combine my passion
to combine my passion
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for solving the global water crisis
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with my interest in science.
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So I decided that the best thing to do
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would be to convert my garage
into a laboratory.
into a laboratory.
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(Laughter)
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Actually, at first I converted
my kitchen into a laboratory,
my kitchen into a laboratory,
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but my parents didn't really approve
and kicked me out.
and kicked me out.
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I also read a lot of journal papers
on water-related research,
on water-related research,
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and I learned that currently
in developing countries,
in developing countries,
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something called solar disinfection,
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or SODIS, is used to purify water.
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In SODIS, clear plastic bottles
are filled with contaminated water
are filled with contaminated water
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and then exposed to sunlight
for six to eight hours.
for six to eight hours.
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The UV radiation from the sun
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destroys the DNA
of these harmful pathogens
of these harmful pathogens
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and decontaminates the water.
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Now, while SODIS is really easy to use
and energy-efficient,
and energy-efficient,
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as it only uses solar energy,
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it's really slow,
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as it can take up to two days
when it's cloudy.
when it's cloudy.
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So in order to make
the SODIS process faster,
the SODIS process faster,
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this new method called photocatalysis
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has recently been used.
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So what exactly is this photocatalysis?
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Let's break it down:
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"photo" means from the sun,
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and a catalyst is something
that speeds up a reaction.
that speeds up a reaction.
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So what photocatalysis is doing
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is it's just speeding up
this solar disinfection process.
this solar disinfection process.
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When sunlight comes in
and strikes a photocatalyst,
and strikes a photocatalyst,
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like TiO2, or titanium dioxide,
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it creates these
really reactive oxygen species,
really reactive oxygen species,
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like superoxides, hydrogen peroxide
and hydroxyl radicals.
and hydroxyl radicals.
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These reactive oxygen species
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are able to remove bacteria and organics
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and a whole lot of contaminants
from drinking water.
from drinking water.
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But unfortunately,
there are several disadvantages
there are several disadvantages
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to the way photocatalytic SODIS
is currently deployed.
is currently deployed.
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See, what they do is they take
the clear plastic bottles
the clear plastic bottles
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and they coat the inside
with this photocatalytic coating.
with this photocatalytic coating.
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But photocatalysts like titanium dioxide
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are actually commonly used in sunscreens
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to block UV radiation.
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So when they're coated
on the inside of these bottles,
on the inside of these bottles,
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they're actually blocking
some of the UV radiation
some of the UV radiation
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and diminishing the efficiency
of the process.
of the process.
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Also, these photocatalytic coatings
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are not tightly bound
to the plastic bottle,
to the plastic bottle,
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which means they wash off,
and people end up drinking the catalyst.
and people end up drinking the catalyst.
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While TiO2 is safe and inert,
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it's really inefficient
if you keep drinking the catalyst,
if you keep drinking the catalyst,
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because then you have
to continue to replenish it,
to continue to replenish it,
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even after a few uses.
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So my goal was
to overcome the disadvantages
to overcome the disadvantages
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of these current treatment methods
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and create a safe, sustainable,
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cost-effective and eco-friendly
method of purifying water.
method of purifying water.
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What started off as an eighth grade
science fair project
science fair project
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is now my photocatalytic composite
for water purification.
for water purification.
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The composite combines
titanium dioxide with cement.
titanium dioxide with cement.
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The cement-like composite can be formed
into several different shapes,
into several different shapes,
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which results in an extremely
versatile range of deployment methods.
versatile range of deployment methods.
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For example, you could create a rod
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that can easily be placed
inside water bottles for individual use
inside water bottles for individual use
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or you could create a porous filter
that can filter water for families.
that can filter water for families.
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You can even coat the inside
of an existing water tank
of an existing water tank
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to purify larger amounts of water
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for communities
over a longer period of time.
over a longer period of time.
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Now, over the course of this,
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my journey hasn't really been easy.
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You know, I didn't have access
to a sophisticated laboratory.
to a sophisticated laboratory.
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I was 14 years old when I started,
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but I didn't let my age deter me
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in my interest
in pursuing scientific research
in pursuing scientific research
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and wanting to solve
the global water crisis.
the global water crisis.
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See, water isn't
just the universal solvent.
just the universal solvent.
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Water is a universal human right.
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And for that reason,
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I'm continuing to work
on this science fair project from 2012
on this science fair project from 2012
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to bring it from the laboratory
into the real world.
into the real world.
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And this summer,
I founded Catalyst for World Water,
I founded Catalyst for World Water,
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a social enterprise aimed at catalyzing
solutions to the global water crisis.
solutions to the global water crisis.
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(Applause)
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Alone, a single drop of water
can't do much,
can't do much,
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but when many drops come together,
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they can sustain life on our planet.
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Just as water drops
come together to form oceans,
come together to form oceans,
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I believe that we all must come together
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when tackling this global problem.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Deepika Kurup - Inventor, student scientistWater is the basis of life, and too many people around the world suffer from waterborne illnesses. Deepika Kurup is working to change that.
Why you should listen
Deepika Kurup is a scientist, speaker, social entrepreneur and student at Harvard University. She has been passionate about solving the global water crisis ever since she was in middle school. After witnessing children in India drinking dirty water, Kurup developed a water purification system that harnesses solar energy to remove contaminants from water.
Recognized as "America’s Top Young Scientist" in 2012, Kurup won the grand prize in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. In 2014 she was honored with the "United States President's Environmental Youth Award" and represented the United States in Stockholm, Sweden at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Most recently Kurup was named one of the Forbes' "30 Under 30: Energy" and was the National Geographic Explorer Award Winner in the 2015 Google Science Fair. She attended the 2016 (and 2013) White House Science Fair. Currently she is CEO and founder Catalyst for World Water, a social enterprise aimed at deploying the technology she developed in water-scarce areas.
Along with research, Kurup is passionate about STEM education, and she feels that STEM education has the power to revolutionize the world. In her free time, she enjoys giving talks and writing articles to encourage students all around the world to pursue science, technology, engineering and math, and to increase awareness of the global water crisis. She has been invited to speak at schools, international conferences and the United Nations.
Deepika Kurup | Speaker | TED.com