As far back as she can remember, Priya Balaji would hear her only child, Yash, begin his sentences with the same words; “I have an idea.”

“From when he was only 3 or 4 years old,” Balaji recalled, “that’s what he would say. He always had ideas.”

The 16-year-old Hopewell Valley Central High School student still has a head filled with ideas, and his latest invention — a water bottle that purifies the water it holds without any outside power source — just made him one of five national winners in the “Guardians of the Galaxy — Guardians of Good” contest for teens with an idea of how to help society.

The payoff, courtesy of Disney Studios, Marvel Studios, Dolby Laboratories and Visa Signature, included a four-day trip to Hollywood with his mom; a stay at the famed Roosevelt Hotel; an invitation to the Hollywood premiere of "Guardians"; behind-the-scenes tours of Disney studios; Disney and "Guardians" merchandise; a Kindle Fire HDX tablet; and a private screening of "Guardians of the Galaxy" for 200 at AMC Hamilton 24.



Winning has also given Yash a national launching point for "CleanBottle," the latest in a long line of inventions that have sprung from the head of the teen, who would like to market the item.

“I want to do something to help people,” said Yash, who included a group of underprivileged kids from HomeFront at his local screening July 31. “My original idea was to create a purification system. I had the idea for the Mercer County Science Fair but I had to modify it. Now it works like pedaling a bike. It uses UV LED lights to kill harmful bacteria and create drinkable water. All you have to do is hold it.

“It could be used where there are wars or natural disasters and no clean water is available.”

Born in India, Yash moved to the United States with his parents, Priya and Bilaji Sahasranaman, a global project manager for Sapient marketing and consulting corporation, at age 3. Their circuitous route to Hopewell Township took them from Boston to Maryland, California, Pennsylvania and several towns in New Jersey first.

“I just love this country so much. It is so beautiful,” said the high school junior, who was one of eight HVCHS students to win special thanks from the school board for their scholastic achievements this year.

A familiar figure at the Mercer County Science Fairs, where he’s won second, third and honorable mention awards, Yash has also contributed some of his writing to “Aspirations,” the Mercer County Community College journal for teen writers.

Yash’s mom said she never has to worry about what her son is doing in his room. “He’s always reading or inventing something. And he always wants to help people.”

A movie buff whose friends are reveling in his red carpet “Guardians” experience, the fan of dinosaurs, “Jurassic Park,” science and invention was more impressed by his behind-the-scenes opportunities to meet the people who make movies when he went to Hollywood, including people from NASA.

Although he usually takes summers off to read and relax, Yash decided to take math, German, pre-calculus and art to get a jump on upcoming courses.

As busy as he’s been, the budding inventor hasn’t had time to start using his Twitter account yet, although he does refer to himself as “the Yashifier” on it.

Ask him what he wants to do for a living and the tall, handsome teen has a litany of answers: inventor, movie director, paleontologist, to name a few.“I have a lot of plans and ideas but, after college, I’d like to start my own company,” he said.

Like he identifies himself on Twitter, Yash Balaji is a “kid with big dreams.” It’s a good bet some of them will become his reality.

Follow The Times of Trenton on Twitter @TimesofTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.