Anna Sato
New York
Ward Melville High School
Anna Sato, 17, of East Setauket, developed a membrane that can remove iodine and cesium from water for her Intel Science Talent
Search project in materials science. Anna had previously authored a paper, published in the Journal of Electron Microscopy,
on her research using filtration to remove bacteria and viruses from water. Motivated by the Fukushima nuclear plant explosion in Japan,
which released dangerous radioactive particles, Anna developed a new class of nanofibrous polymeric membranes that combine filtration
with adsorption to effectively remove iodine and cesium. Anna believes that such a filter could be used in homes to remove a wide range
of contaminants at a cost comparable to disposable coffee filters, thereby providing broad access to safe drinking water to people
around the world. Anna has played varsity tennis and is co-president of Tri-M Music Honor Society at Ward Melville High School,
and is principal violist of Juilliard’s Pre-College Orchestra. Anna is also an accomplished artist, and illustrated a published book
that she co-authored on Japanese Kanji. The daughter of Yimei Zhu and Eriko Sato, Anna helps out Sundays at a local soup kitchen and
raised about $7,000 to help victims of Japan’s recent earthquake.
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