The Rhodes Trust said in a news release that Gururaj and fellow students designed and patented a low-cost blood warmer that could keep soldiers from dying on the battlefield of hypothermia. "Anisha Gururaj is an inspiration," Rebecca Saxe, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience and co-chair of MIT's Presidential Committee on Distinguished Scholarships, said in a written statement. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor, among other attributes.