Professor Sara Parwin Kamaludheen of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, refers to vetiver—a fragrant perennial grass—as a ‘magical plant’. Her involvement in a national-level conference on vetiver at the university eight years ago, which she attended with her students, ignited her passion for researching how this versatile plant could be used in sewage treatment. The moment proved to be a turning point in her career as it led to the development of an innovative sewage treatment float using vetiver grass. Professor Sara has since patented the design of this float, which has been successfully deployed in several waterbodies across Tamil Nadu as an eco-friendly bio-effluent fighter.