Meet Nathan, the Texas seventh-grader who turned shellfish waste into a water-cleaning project

Nathan Gael Montelongo, a seventh-grader from La Joya, Texas, created a project using chitosan. He collected discarded shellfish shells to produce chitosan powder and tested its effectiveness on polluted water. Studies showed that chitosan improved water clarity and benefited zebrafish embryos in experiments. Nathan designed a prototype raft that could automate water quality monitoring and treatment.