A 15-year-old Colorado high school student and young scientist who has used artificial intelligence (AI) and created apps to address polluted drinking water, drug addiction and other social problems has been named Time Magazine’s first-ever “Kid of the Year”.

Rao told The Associated Press in an interview from her home that the prize is nothing that I could have ever imagined. And I’m so grateful and just so excited that we’re really taking a look at the upcoming generation and our generation, since the future is in our hands.

Time said Rao stood out for creating a global community of young innovators and inspiring them to pursue their goals. Rao insisted that starting out small doesn’t matter, as long as you’re passionate about it.

She told Time contributing editor Angelina Jolie in an interview that her science pursuits started early as a way to improve social conditions. The drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, inspired her work to develop a way to detect pollutants and send those results to a mobile phone, she said.

“I was like 10 when I told my parents that I wanted to research carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water quality research lab, and my mum was like, A what?” Rao told Jolie. She said that work is going to be in our generation’s hands pretty soon. “So if no one else is gonna do it, I’m gonna do it.”

In a world where science is increasingly questioned or challenged, Rao insisted that its pursuit is an act of kindness, the best way that a younger generation can better the world.

“We have science in everything we’re involved in, and I think that’s the biggest thing to put out there, that science is cool, innovating is cool, and anybody can be an innovator.” Rao said, “Anybody can do science.”

Anyone wanting to help the poor may like this idea—recycling aluminum (铝) cans in a different way, which is apparently also good for the environment. So you’re actually killing two birds with one stone. It goes without saying that recycling aluminum cans can save resources, energy, time and money. People usually save and place aluminum cans in the dustbins, which are then collected and taken away by cleaners, who will finally recycle them in the recycling center. But if you save the aluminum cans, and skip the cleaners, you can save these same cans for something more important—helping the poor. In other words, by doing less, you are giving the environmental cause some new significance.

Here is how to put this idea into action. Take your aluminum cans and place them in a plastic bag. For the dirty ones, rinse them out first. Store the bag of clean aluminum cans. Once you collect about one hundred cans or more, take the cans to the recycle center yourself. There are about eighteen aluminum cans in a pound. And you can receive three to four dollars for one hundred cans. Donate your three to four dollars to the poor or any charity organization of your choice.

By now, you may wonder if your few dollars have really made a difference to the poor. Consider this: Is there any individual or any specific event that is great enough to change the world or decide the direction that history takes? The answer is probably no. What if there were a lot of people who would do the same thing? History shows nothing but the collective will of the whole community. And that will surely be powerful enough to make a bigger difference.

Go to your community or your school and spread your idea. Share your idea and save your aluminum cans with other people. One hundred people can speak louder than one. And the money you make by saving cans can be multiplied by one hundred times. And if more people join in the cause around the world, an even larger difference can be made , and more people in need will enjoy the benefits.

A study found wireless signals are able to pass through bags and suitcases to judge the sizes of dangerous metal objects and identify them. “These items could include weapons, chemicals, laptops and batteries for bombs,” the research team said on Tuesday.

Research suggested that Wi-Fi can now be used to estimate the volume of liquids such as water, acid, alcohol and other chemicals for explosive material. The study led by researchers at the Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB) in the School of Engineering showed a wireless device with two to three antennas (天线) that could be fitted in existing Wi-Fi networks.

The detection system analyzes what happens when wireless signals go through and bounce off objects or materials. The approach, which the paper states, works by separating the wireless interference (干扰) caused by two factors of objects — the material and shape. “Most dangerous objects such as weapons are usually metal or liquid, which have significant interference,” researchers said.

When it was tested on a backpack, the accuracy rate topped 95 percent. “But the accuracy dropped to about 90 percent when objects inside bags are wrapped. And the tech could save lives if used in museums, stadiums, theme parks or schools,” the team said, noting its design can inspect bags or luggage without being an exposure to privacy.

It uses channel state information (CS) that is readily available in low-cost Wi-Fi devices. “This could have a great impact on protecting the public from dangerous objects,” said Yingying Chen, a co-author of the study, “There’s a growing need for that now. In large public areas, it’s hard to set up expensive screening equipment like what’s in airports. Manpower is always needed to check bags and we want to develop a method to try to reduce manpower. “

The peer-reviewed study, which recently won a best paper award at the 2018 IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security, is now published online. “Future work will continue to focus on improving the accuracy of identifying objects and imaging shapes and volumes,” researchers said.