We have included links to USA chemical suppliers, but any materials can be swapped out for international suppliers.
25g Lab-Grade L-Cysteine (If S95)
Non-Lab-Grade L-Cysteine (If S86 or S90)
Any of the following can be substituted for standard lab equipment or materials from home.
25 mL Beaker (If S90 or S95)
Card Stock Paper (If S86)
Wax Crayon (If S86)
Use the chart below to decide which sensor works best for your use case.
Our interest for water quality started when Aditya, serving as a Youth Commissioner for Santa Clara County's Valley Water (for 2 million water consumers), toured the Advanced Water Purification Lab. There, we learned about ongoing research with UC Davis and UC Merced on mercury contamination in the nearby Guadalupe watershed. That experience led us to focus on developing low-cost, scalable solutions for global mercury pollution.Our Mercury detection project has earned 1st place at the 2025 California Stockholm Junior Water Prize, 2nd at the 2025 California Science and Engineering Fair, 2nd at the 2025 Synopsys Santa Clara Science Fair, and 1st place from Santa Clara Valley Water. Our previous research on macroplastics has earned 2nd place at the 2024 California Stockholm Junior Water Prize. For our water-related community work, we received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award: Gold.