TIME names 15-year-old scientist Gitanjali Rao its first-ever Kid of the Year

TIME Magazine has named 15-year-old scientist and inventor Gitanjali Rao as its first-ever Kid of the Year.

Out of 5,000 nominees for TIME’s first-ever Kid of the Year, the magazine shared on Thursday that they chose Rao for her “astonishing work using technology to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying.”

Introducing the first-ever Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao https://t.co/Hvgu3GLoNs pic.twitter.com/4zORbRiGMU

— TIME (@TIME) December 3, 2020

In an interview with Angelina Jolie, Rao revealed that aside from working on an easy way to detect bio-contaminants in water, she also made an app called Kindly which helps detect cyberbullying at an early stage at such a young age. 

For the past 92 years, TIME has named a Person of the Year. This year, the magazine decided to name its first ever Kid of the Year, “a barometer for the rising leaders of America’s youngest generation,” in partnership with Nickelodeon. 

Meet TIME's first-ever Kid of the Year https://t.co/8ExwjanZfE pic.twitter.com/UkPscbp63H

— TIME (@TIME) December 3, 2020

To choose the “most influential kids of 2020,” TIME said that they looked across school districts and social media. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News