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Young Inventors Galore! |
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At the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Awards- 2005, Malavika Tiwari of Kanpur was awarded for her foot-operated vehicle for the disabled. Malavika is not the first Indian to be so awarded. Ever since its inception in 2000, Indian students have been regularly featuring as award winners in the world’s largest pre-college science competitition. In the inaugural year, Sameep Agrawal and Sarvesh Rathore were awarded for their project on using Shellac Industry Waste as a chelating agent for uptake of micro-nutrients by plants. In 2001, Ruchira Bajpai’s project on lowering hyperglycemia using custard apple and Kiran Sowani and Ramnival Ruia’s oil spill collector for control of marine pollution were awarded. In 2002, Srushti Mukesh Shah and Shraddha Mangesh Teli were awarded for their project on application of eco-friendly natural dyes on natural fibres. In 2003, Bhushan Prakash Mahodik was awarded for his project on formation of carbon nanotubes from vegetable oils. In 2004, Kanishaa Rajkumar was awarded for a farmer friendly software for pest diagnosis. The other Indian awardees were Vrishikumar Patil (study on biological seed dressing), Shriram Jayaraman (wood from paper) and Amruth Bagli Ravindranath (mechanichal wave modulation and applications)(source: www.sciserv.org/isef/results). All over the world, children are making a splash with their inventions.
This is not a recent phenomenon. History is full of instances of remarkable child inventors. Louis Braille was 15 when he developed a system of using six dots to represent alphabets which could be read by the visually impaired. He was able to open up a new world for these people (http://www.bkfk.com/inventions/inventor_media.lbraille). Chester Greenwood, at 15 designed earmuffs because he was finding it difficult to protect his ears against the cold while skating. He was granted a patent at the age of 17 in 1877 and went on the establish a highly successful industry (http://www.bkfk.com/inventions/inventor_media/cgreenwood.htm). Philo Farmsworth was 14-years old when he came up with the idea of using electron beams to reproduce images. This pivotal technology was crucial in the television industry (http://www.bkfk.com/inventions/inventor_media.pfarmsworth).
The curiosity to explore and modify the surroundings as well as the freshness of mind which a child brings into a problem, contribute towards some startling solutions to everyday problems, which amaze you by their sheer simplicity. Examples which come up everyday only underline the fact that inventors are getting younger and younger.
Richie Stachowski was 10 years old and was enjoying his first snorkeling experience with his father. When underwater, he was unable to attract his father’s attention. As a solution, he came up with a underwater talkie which enables people to talk to each other when underwater. Richie’s talkie was so successful that he set up a company for the manufacture of the talkie and other inventions. When he was 13, he sold the business for a sum of 1 million dollars (http://www.kidzworle.com/site/p1111.htm)
For Krysta Morlan, it was her personal discomfort after undergoing an orthopedic surgery which motivated her to come up with a cast cooler. Having been diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy as a child, she had to undergo an orthopedic surgery. After the surgery, with her leg in a cast, she experienced extreme discomfort because the casts were extremely hot and itchy. So she developed a cast cooler. The cooler can be attached to the appendage and a small rubber tube inserted into the cast to cool the spot of itch and give comfort (http://www.disabilitycentral.com/activteen/magazine/science%5Ftechnology/krysta%5
Fmorlan.htm)
Thirteen year old Kavita Shukla already held a patent for developing a lab safety lid for preserving hazardous chemicals in the lab, when on a visit to her grandmother in India, she observed the traditional use of fenugreek seeds for its antibacterial property. After having swallowed unfiltered water, she was given fenugreek seeds to reduce the potential damage. She noted this usage and when she returned to the US, experimented with the use of fenugreek as a food preservative. She was then able to develop fenugreek coated wrapping paper as a food preservative device. Kavita has been granted a patent for this fenugreek coated paper (US Patent No. 63,72,220) (http://mit.edu/invent/a-winners/a-shukla.htm).
Many international exhibitions have also been organized to recognize the merit of young inventors and give them a space to share and enrich their ideas. One such exhibition Futures Creation Fair was organized by the Japan Institute for Invention and Innovation in Tokyo in 2004. Children from 30 countries participated in this programme. Another exhibition was organized in Kuala Lampur in May, 2005, by Malaysian Invention and Design Society. Children from 16 countries participated in this exhibition. The inventions were in multiple fields from botany and physics to advanced computer technology and mobile technology. An overview of some of the interesting inventions is given in Table 1.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. All over the world, from every nook and corner, children are just bubbling over with newer ideas to change the world. Our efforts have been able to recognize the merit of some of these children and honor them appropriately. Our efforts in this direction needs to become more intense so that no creative and innovative child ever has to face the trauma of having their ideas ignored or ridiculed by an unresponsive society. |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 16(3):13&19, 2005 |
