DeMessie started researching methods to make water cleaner after visiting relatives in Ethiopia the summer before his ninth-grade year. Since then, he has created a way to quickly remove pollutants from water by converting agricultural waste into bio-charcoal.
School officials say his work has earned him grand prizes at the 2013 and 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering fairs and the 2014 Siemens Competition in math, science and technology.
DeMessie says he wants to major in biochemistry.
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