HONORABLE MENTION

Akaash Doshi, age 16
La Jolla Country Day School, La Jolla, CA
Teacher: Luna Kim

Door handles in public spaces receive high amounts of traffic, allowing for an easy spread of germs, including Covid-19, from person-to-person through indirect contact. Frequently, the only way to exit a bathroom is by directly touching and pulling the door handle—an unsanitary and frustrating task. I designed a cheap and easily installable solution. My solution is a pedal that can be stepped on to open the door. The user pushes down with their foot to trigger the mechanism and then pulls the pedal with their foot to pry open the door. People in public restrooms will no longer need to touch the door handle to exit. The pedal system will decrease the spread of germs by reducing contact, therefore reducing illness.