15-year-old teen from Colorado, Gitanjali Rao was named as Time Magazine’s first ever “Kid of the Year”. Rao was chosen from more than 5,000 nominees for the said title, and was interviewed by Angelina Jolie for the Time Magazine special article. Some of her works included “Kindly”, an AI-based application that can identify words that could be considered as cyberbullying, a monitor for bio-contaminants, and a warning system for prescription-opioid addiction. She was also named as 2017’s America’s Top Young Scientist and one of Forbes magazine’s “under 30” list last 2019.

“My goal has really shifted not only from creating my own devices to solve the world’s problems, but inspiring others to do the same as well. Because, from personal experience, it’s not easy when you don’t see anyone else like you. So I really want to put out that message: If I can do it, you can do it, and anyone can do it.”, said Rao in an interview with Jolie. To make this happen, Rao has teamed with various academic institutions around the world to inspire the youth to come up with their own inventions. She has already taught more than 30,000 student innovators that can solve modern issues. Currently, Rao hopes to prevent future health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic from occurring and looking for ways to target cross-species transmission.