RadTech chose 8th -grader Mealy Cronin for its prestigious RADLAUNCH “Future Scientist” award for her invention: an “Air/Water Purification Ion-Exchange Resin & UVC Filtration System.” The commercial name for the invention is “Detect and Clear,” and Mealy has nicknamed it “Zephyr.”

“Through a series of resin membrane matrix ion-exchange filtration technologies,” Mealy explained, “this system detects toxins in the air or water and draws the toxins in, purifies the air or water and then releases the purified air or water back into the atmosphere or back to its water source.”

Once Mealy came up with the idea for her invention, she had to construct a prototype to meet one of the requirements of her patent application, so she solicited funding and component parts from different companies. In doing so, she came across several companies that sponsored competitions for new inventions. RadTech, sponsor of the RADLAUNCH competition, was one of the groups with which she shared her proposal.

The RadTech judging team was quite impressed with her invention, but even more so by the fact that its creator is in the 8th grade. She is the youngest person ever to receive the “Future Scientist” award from RadTech.