Designer of mosquito killing device among scientists awarded for innovation
Department of science and technology, along with Lockheed Martin India, felicitates E.C. Thomas and 29 others
New Delhi: Scientist and film-maker E.C. Thomas received an award for innovation on Friday for a product called ‘Take it Eazzy,’ a mosquito eradication device that uses no electricity and no chemicals.
Thomas was felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology and Lockheed Martin India along with 29 others for innovation in various fields of science.
The device Thomas invented consists of tanks, one filled with still water to attract mosquitoes to breed and lay eggs and another to collect the mosquitoes. The last tank siphons off the larvae and kills them using atmospheric pressure.
“Mosquitoes want space to breed and it takes them 10 days to lay eggs. But lucky for us, they put all their eggs in one basket, which makes them easy to kill," explains Thomas, who claims to be frustrated by human beings killing mammals like elephants and whales, but being unable to rid themselves of disease-causing mosquitoes.
Forty-five innovators were shortlisted and given a week-long training in the principles of product commercialization, business models, intellectual property rights, and competitive positioning by faculty members from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Finally, 30 winners were announced after a jury reviewed the applications.
Twenty of the 30 innovators received ₹ 1 lakh each; 10 will be taken on an all-expenses-paid trip to Silicon Valley in the US.
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