Next Gen Testing, DifferenceMakers
Commitment to a Sustainable Environment Award (Sponsored by Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy)
Levon Markosyan, a Computer Science freshman, explained the dangers of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) contamination in water supplies during his pitch at the 2024 DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge. These harmful PFOS chemicals can accumulate in your body and can cause various types of cancer, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs), and many more problems. Levon is working to create an affordable and reusable option to test and reduce PFOS contamination in water. The team won the Commitment to a Sustainable Environment Award (Sponsored by Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy) and a total of $4,000 in funding at the 2024 DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge.
Team Next Gen Testing is working to develop a solution that consists of an impurity concentrator and a reverse osmosis filter to detect and localize the impurities in water. This will provide consumers with the guarantee to have pure filtered water that is safe for any use from home. With the funding he received from the Idea Challenge, Levon plans to further develop his solution by focusing on the impurity concentrator and the spectroscopy device, including all calibration.