An oil spill in the middle of the ocean can affect millions of marine and human lives.
On April 20, 2010, the world witnessed a large-scale industrial disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also known as the BP oil spill, discharged close to 4.9 million barrels of oil into the sea. In the aftermath, several marine species were affected and humans were asked to stay away from the coast for a while. The effects of the disaster are such that they can be seen even today in the form of deformed sea animals.
Keiana Cave, then a 15-year-old, living in New Orleans, Louisiana, was deeply affected by the news on television. Having always been interested in science and research, Keiana started to research about the oil spill. She learnt that when UV rays from the sun mix with the oil in the ocean, the oil becomes carcinogenic.
Finding a solution
Keiana entered her findings at a science fair in her hometown and she took home a prize for her research. She was encouraged by her biology teacher to pursue her research. Funded by GOMRI (Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative). Keiana started her research at the University of New Orleans the same year. Soon she worked with Tulane University, New Orleans. The research, titled A Method for Identifying the Photoproducts, Mechanisms, and Toxicity of Petroleum from the Deepwater Horizon by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and DNPHi Derivatization, provided the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a method to identify nanotoxins (toxic nanoparticles) that form in seawater after oil spills.
In 2015, she won the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Category for her research on the BP oil spill.
Developing dispersant, and a company
Not stopping at just identifying nanotoxins, Keiana joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, in 2016. During her time there, Keiana developed an oil dispersant molecule (a mixture of emulsifiers and solvents that helps break oil into small droplets following an oil spill). Keiana started a company and pitched her start-up to investors. Her start-up, Mare, is a research initiative dedicated to developing solutions to large-scale spills such as the BP oil spill. The same year, Keiana’s research also received a funding of USD 1.2 million.
In 2017, Keiana featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list, and in 2018, was named in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2018 Young Millionaires List, following the acquisition of Mare in late 2017.
Today, Keiana has two two patents and two scientific papers in her name.
What makes her special?
From helping government agencies identify nanotoxins, to developing an oil dispersant molecule, Keiana used her concern and talent to tackle the impact of oil spills head-on.
Picture Credit : Google
