Remember that list teachers had you make in elementary school? It was filled with all of the amazing things you wanted to accomplish in your life, most of which were grandiose. And while most of us probably won’t have the opportunity to cure cancer or travel to the moon, some teenagers are already making an impact. All under 20, these kids are using their ingenuity and everyday objects to solve the world’s problems.
Eesha Khare
Just 18 years old, Khare knows more about batteries than most of us combined ever will. This Saratoga, Calif. teenager revolutionized their function by inventing one that can be charged in 20 seconds and keeps power 10 times longer than the average battery. [ph]
Param Jaggi
With carbon dioxide emissions (particularly from cars) becoming a more prevalent environmental hazard, Jaggi decided to look to the environment for a solution. The answer? Algae. Using the water weed, the 17-year-old Jaggi created Algae Mobile – a device inserted into the tailpipe of a car, which converts exhaust into oxygen. [ph]
Marion Betchel
The daughter of geologists and a music lover herself, Betchel found a way to combine her experience with both to fight violence. Using the sound waves from the piano, Betchel created a keyboard-based device that can detect hidden land mines — which, in many areas, are still a huge cause of death, particularly among children. Betchel’s device could prevent many of those unnecessary deaths. [ph]
Ryan Patterson
In Colorado, 17-year-old Patterson just found a way to ease the lives of the deaf using a glove. Equipped with sensors, a radio frequency transmitter and a microcontroller, this glove can interpret hand motions, thereby, translating sign language for the user. [ph]
Raquel Redshirt
In New Mexico’s Navajo Nation, poverty runs rampant while electricity is scarce. Many of the residents can’t afford an electric oven — making food options very limited. That is, until 16-year old Redshirt created a solar-powered one. Comprised of anything lying around — old tires, aluminum foil, shredded paper, dirt — Redshirt created a simple device that’s changing the lives of her family and community. [ph]
Considering all of these great things were accomplished during their teen years, just imagine what these youth are going to do in the next 50 years.
To read about more teenage inventors, click here.
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