Indian American teen Gitanjali Rao on TIME cover

TIME magazine has put an Indian American teen "scientist and inventor" Gitanjali Rao on its first-ever `Kid of the Year` cover, selected from a field of more than 5,000 nominees for her "astonishing work using technology to tackle issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying".

Dressed in a white lab coat, sporting a clutch of medals hanging from lanyards, Gitanjali Rao is pictured on the cover of the TIME edition dated December 14. Seated on a white bench, her shoulder length hair blowing in the wind, Rao is a picture of teen cool and spunk in a year that has been headlined by science and scientists.

"Even over video chat, her brilliant mind and generous spirit shone through, along with her inspiring message to other young people: don`t try to fix every problem, just focus on one that excites you," writes Rao`s interviewer Angelina Jolie.

Rao`s latest innovation is Kindly, an app and a Chrome extension - which uses machine learning technology to detect early traces of cyberbullying.

"I started to hard-code in some words that could be considered bullying, and then my engine took those words and identified words that are similar. You type in a word or phrase, and it`s able to pick it up if it`s bullying, and it gives you the option to edit it or send it the way it is," Rao explained to Jolie, over a Zoom call.

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"The goal is not to punish. As a teenager, I know teenagers tend to lash out sometimes. Instead, it gives you the chance to rethink what you`re saying so that you know what to do next time around."