Two teenagers from Europe were recently named the Global Winners of The Earth Prize, after beating six other Regional Winners in a global vote.
—
18-year-old Tomáš Čermák from Czechia and 19-year-old Anna Podmanická from Slovakia created a powerful new water cleaning device called PURA. This invention helps remove pollution and dangerous bacteria from dirty water – especially the kind that’s hard to clean, like water contaminated with antibiotics.
Every year, millions of people get sick because of water that is not clean. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming a big problem, and many of them come from hospital or farm waste that ends up in rivers and lakes. PURA uses a clever combo of light and plasma (a kind of supercharged gas) to clean water in a brand-new way. And the best part? It works without needing a ton of energy.
PURA was chosen as the Global Winner out of seven Regional Winners from all over the world. Over 16,000 people voted to help decide who should win the top prize. Tomáš and Anna, representing Europe, were awarded $12,500 to keep building and improving their invention, as well as a special “100-year flag” that will fly proudly at their schools.
Right now, PURA can clean small amounts of water, perfect for households. But with their prize money and support from The Earth Prize, Tomáš and Anna are building a bigger version that could one day clean water for entire towns and cities. That means safer water for more people and fewer harmful bacteria in our environment.
“This is just the beginning of our journey,” said Tomáš and Anna. “Winning The Earth Prize puts our invention on the global stage, and we hope it inspires more young people to take action for our planet.”
Tomáš is an autism advocate and the first high school student to do research at the Czech Academy of Sciences. Anna is a prize-winning science student who was selected for a summer program at the University of Oxford.
The Earth Prize is an annual competition run by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit in Switzerland. It’s open to young people ages 13–19 from all around the world. The goal? To give young inventors the tools, mentoring, and money they need to turn big ideas into real-life solutions that help the planet.
Since it started, The Earth Prize has reached more than 15,000 students in 160 countries and given out over $500,000 to winning teams. And it’s not just about prizes – past winners have gone on to patent their inventions, work with manufacturers, and even get featured in the news.
Think about a problem in your community that affects the environment. Could you come up with a solution? Maybe you could be the next Earth Prize winner!
Check this out next: How This 17-Year-Old Created a Sensor to Detect Wildfires Early
Share this article with your friends
