Washington: An 18-year-old Indian-American boy has won the prestigious Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award in the US for inventing a device that quickly shuts down undersea oil spills.

Karan Jerath of Friendswood, Texas, claimed US$50,000 top prize Friday at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (IISEF).

Jerath was also one of the five students selected for the Intel and Indo-US Science and Technology Forum Visit to India Award, The New Indian Express reported with PTI as source.

Jerath designed a sturdy device that can collect the oil, gas and water spewing from a broken well on the seafloor.

“Sensors inside the 350-ton device would measure the temperature, pressure and density of the mix of gases and fluids erupting from a well.

“A computer would then calculate how valves in the gadget should be adjusted so that the gas and oil can be collected. That should stop a spill in its tracks. The device could help prevent an ecological catastrophe. It also would reduce cleanup costs,” Jerath said.

The top position was shared by two other teen researchers.

One developed a technique to more quickly diagnose infections by HIV. The other used sophisticated software to improve the flow of air inside aircraft cabins that could reduce the transmission of disease among passengers.

Maya Ajmera, an Indian descent who heads the Society for Science and the Public that conducts the IISEF, congratulated the winners and said, “These talented young students are the problem solvers and innovators of their generation.”

Scores of Indian-American students won awards in various categories, five of them getting the first award in their specializations, biochemistry, behavioral sciences, environmental engineering, mathematics and energy physics.

The IISEF honors the world’s most promising high school student scientists, inventors and engineers selected through rigorous competitions held around the world.

Jerath said he was motivated to find a solution after a devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico five years ago, He redesigned a cofferdam (a containment enclosure) that rapidly and safely recovers itself in the event of a blowout.

Specifically, he developed a device to separate natural gas, oil and ocean water, while accommodating different water depths, pipe sizes and fluid compositions. Additionally, his design allows for the injection of warm nitrogen to prevent the formation of methane hydrate, which can clog a system — one of a number of issues encountered during the Gulf spill.

Through simulations, Jerath demonstrated that his cofferdam design has the potential to function on the sea bottom at depths where oil is being extracted.

This year’s Intel ISEF involved more than 1,700 young scientists who advanced from 422 affiliate fairs in more than 75 countries, regions and territories around the globe.

In addition to the top winners, approximately 600 finalists received awards and prizes for innovative research, including 20 “Best of Category” winners, who each received a $5,000 prize.

The Intel Foundation also awarded a US$1,000 grant to each winner’s school and to the affiliated fair they represent.