Rachel Brouwer
Rachel Brouwer (born ) is a Canadian from Bedford, Nova Scotia, who while still a secondary student invented a new method of killing bacteria in drinking water which requires no fuel and uses material commonly available in third-world countries. Early life and education Rachel Brouwer was a student at Bedford Academy when she invented her device. After graduation from Bedford Academy Rachel Brouwer became a student at Charles P. Allen High School. Invention and awards She started developing her purification system when she was eleven years old. She was inspired after reading about cholera in I Am Malala the biography of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai and seeing "do not drink" signs posted during a trip. The next year she demonstrated it at the Halifax Science Expo. Later, Brouwer entered her invention in the Canada-Wide Science Fair, and won a gold medal. Brouwer's water pasteurizer is made of ABS pipe, plastic water bottles, cotton and charcoal. The water is heated in the sun and bacteria are killed by ultraviolet radiation; Brouwer created a temperature indicator made of soybean wax so that users can tell when the water is safe to drink. In 2015 she was named a community hero by the