Congratulations to Year 13 student Rena Misra, recipient of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Future Scientist Prize. Her award-winning project explored how fungi-augmented plants can remove heavy metals like copper and zinc from Aotearoa’s waterways—a low-cost, sustainable approach to reducing stormwater contamination.
Rena shared her work on TVNZ’s Breakfast and acknowledged the support of The Royal Society Te Apārangi, Mrs Ghanim, and Mrs McNaughton.
“I hope this project paves the way for further advancements… especially in low-resource communities,” says Rena.
To find out more about Rena's project watch the official video.
Rena was also interviewed by Claire Concannon on RNZ as part of Our Changing World Podcast about her project (her segment runs from 19:36 to 26:10).
Below are some details about Rena's project and the award from the Prime Minister's Science Prizes website:
Te Puiaki Kaipūtaiao Ānamata the Prime Minister’s Future Scientist is Rena Misra, a Year 13 student at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in Auckland.
Rena was awarded this Prize for her research on removing pollutants from stormwater, using fungi to enhance the efficiency of filtration by plants. Her project details how plants inoculated with vascular mycorrhizal fungi have an enhanced ability to take up copper, and reduce contamination in water.
Rena’s system has the potential to be scaled up for use in water-treatment plants and in rural waterways where stormwater often isn’t treated.
Rena says she was inspired to pursue this project after she learned about the growing issue of stormwater runoff in New Zealand.
“With every rainfall and storm event, particles like copper make their way from car brakes and metal roofing and flow into our waterways, which is compromising the health of our aquatic ecosystems,” she explains.
Continue to read more here
Photos courtesy of Rebecca McMillan Photography
