PRESIDENT’S TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE SCIENCE FAIR FROM THE WHITE HOUSE — Kiona Elliott, 18 and Payton Kaar, 16 — Lemelson – MIT Program: InvenTeams – Teens design pedal-powered filtration system: High-schoolers Payton Karr andKiona Elliot, from Oakland Park, Fla., led a team of inventors who designed a collapsible, transportable, bicycle-powered emergency water-san-itation station that filters E. coli and other harmful pathogens from contaminated water. In emergencies, the device can be assembled and disassembled in under an hour, and can produce enough water to hydrate 20 – 30 people during a 15 hour period. Payton, Kiona, and their Northeast High School classmates received a 2012 InvenTeam grant from the Lemelson-MIT Program, which supported their development of the innovative design. Both Payton and Kiona intend to be the first in their families to attend college.
