2016 Prodigy: Trisha Prabhu

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Trisha Prabhu

In 2013, at age 13, Trisha Prabhu created ReThink, a smartphone app that helps stop cyberbullying. It makes kids think twice before they post harmful thoughts online. 

Prabhu's studies have shown the app gets kids to change their minds about what they post 93% of the time. ReThink earned top honors at the 2014 Google Science Fair and the 2015 White House Science Fair. 

Now Prabhu is taking ReThink global, with plans to release free versions of the app in several languages by the end of this year. "ReThink's impact now reaches across the globe," she says. 

TED recently partnered with Star-TV India and invited Prabhu to share the ReThink message with 650 million native Hindi speakers. "Not only was it an incredible opportunity for me to learn a new language," she says, "but it allowed me to bring my anti-cyberbullying movement to a different corner of the world and opened doors for me to make ReThink a reality for millions more."

Prabhu, who is now a high school senior, also continues to customize and fine-tune ReThink for use in schools across the United States. While appearing on the TV show Shark Tank last year, she landed a $100,000 deal from investors Mark Cuban and Lori Grenier to help her develop the app and expand its reach.