Meet Tina Jin, 15-year-old who turned animal bones into a water-cleaning material

A 15-year-old Massachusetts student is exploring an unusual way to make polluted water cleaner: using discarded animal bones. Tina Jin, a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, developed a filtration system that uses ground cow, lamb or pig bones arranged in multiple layers to target different contaminants in water. Her research focuses on places where conventional water-treatment systems may be too expensive or difficult to operate, and her latest project was presented at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The system showed promising results in experiments involving bacteria, heavy metals, turbidity and microplastics. Jin's work has also progressed beyond a school science project. A US patent covering a filter made with ground animal-bone granules was granted to her in December 2025, while her 2026 ISEF project received a first award in Earth and Environmental Sciences and a $10,000 Ricoh Sustainable Development Award.How Tina Jin got the idea from animal bonesJin's interest in animal bones as a filtration material began with their porous structure. Instead of treating leftover bones simply as waste, she explored whether their physical and chemi...