Meet the young scientist whose path-breaking work has the world in awe

Gopal, a 19-year-old scientist who won global acclaim for his path-breaking work on the Banana Bio Cell, which produces electricity from banana stems, has turned down many offers from esteemed global universities, opting instead to do his scientific research in India itself and work for the betterment of his country.

Dehradun: Where there is a will, there is a way and your age also cannot be a barrier to your cause. Gopal, a 19-year-old scientist from Bihar is proving the above saying right.

A resident of Dhruvganj in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, Gopal's father is a farmer. The devastating floods of 2008 completely destroyed his father's banana crop. But it was adversity that brought out the best in Gopal, as he decided to study ways in which the destroyed crop could be used productively.

This was the beginning of Gopal's scientific pursuit, which eventually led to him achieving the unthinkable. At the tender age of 13, Gopal made a scientific breakthrough which could prove to be a boon for India's power-deprived areas.

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Gopal succeeded in producing electricity from Banana stems and waste paper, eventually patenting his two inventions - the Banana Bio Cell and Paper Bio Cell. With the help of electrodes, Gopal converted the natural bioenergy in banana stems to electrical energy, which can provide a green and cheap solution to the country's power woes.

Gopal, who is currently a research student at the Graphic Era University in Dehradun, spoke to ETV Bharat, where he talked about his scientific feats.

The young scientist said that after his inventions, institutes from the world over, including prestigious institutes like Oxford and New Jersey Institute of Technology, invited him to conduct research with them. However, he decided to stay back in India and conduct his research to aid development in his own country.

For his path-breaking inventions, he has also been awarded the Inspirer Award by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. I-Smart, an Indian company has also made Gopal it's brand ambassador.

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Presently, at the Graphic Era University, Gopal is doing extensive research on Gopniyam Oil. He is also working on the Gopalska Theory, which is based on the reduction of nuclear radiation. Gopal has already filed three inventions with the NIF at Ahmedabad. This includes the G start powder which can be crucial in the defence field. Apart from this, he is also working on the Hydro-Electric Bio-Cell, which stores electricity generated in the sky during lightning.

However, Gopal's journey was not an easy one. He contacted Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar for a lab and also connected with PM Modi via social media and written correspondence. But, he could not find a solution to his issue.

It was on August 2, 2017, that Gopal finally got the chance to meet Prime Minister Modi, following which he was granted permission to conduct his research at NIF, Ahmedabad.

Gopal, who has conducted research on a variety of topics, is carrying on with his scientific pursuits and hopes to establish his own lab, where young researchers can come together and work.

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