KELYDRA WELCKER – Created a Water Filtration System
Kelydra Welcker was only in 7th grade when she figured out a simple test for ammonium perfluorooctanoate, a chemical that was polluting the local waters of the Ohio River where she lived, just 7 miles downstream from a DuPont plant. Then, operating out of a trailer behind her house, Welcker devised a way to remove the Teflon surfactant from the water by combining granular activated carbon and a pair of electrodes. With some help from the local utility company and DuPont, Welcker, now in college, hopes to implement her desktop unit on a community-wide scale.
HIBIKI “SPIDER BOY” KONO – Invented a Wall-Climbing Backpack
Hibiki Kono may not have Spiderman’s web-slinging powers, but the 13-year-old British schoolboy can scale walls almost as well. His not-so-secret: A high-tech “backpack” that harnesses the suction power of two recycled vacuum cleaners—perfect, Kono says, for your friendly neighborhood window washer.
JAVIER FERNANDEZ-HAN – Designed the Versatile System
Javier Fernández-Han was only 9 when he decided he wanted to design for the other 90 percent. Several years later, Fernandez-Han devised the Versatile System, a mix of new and existing technology that uses algae to treat waste, produces methane and bio-oil as fuel, grows food, and traps greenhouse gases.
To see more inspiring eco images, check out my album on Veer.com
Look up http://www.futurecity.org – 2009-2010 competition was epic… read the essays!
Man, if I would have known that not only would wall climbing jet packs be part of the future but that they would be GREEN too! Maybe things aren’t so scary afterall.
[...] imagination?! But think again. While video games and Facebook may reign supreme for some, there are more than a handful of kids out there who’d rather put their minds to a more inspired use in their free time. As proof of [...]
I had genius ideas when I was a kid – just didn’t have the shop skills to make it happen. Bring back shop class!!
I will forward this post on whenever I hear some grandpa talking about how the future generations are lazy! Look what these kids have done with the technology they’ve grown up around. Seriously incredible!
way to make me feel inadequate!
Amazing designers getting an early start! Sustainability in designs is one of the most tricky aspects of a good design–kudos to kids for starting their careers on the right foot! SO impressive!
These kids show how bright the future will be… what will they think of next!
Kids these days….So smart and eco-conscious!
How inspiring! It’s such a relief to know that future generations have a head start on what we are just now getting the hang of.
I’m going to print this out for my toddler…she better start cracking!
Incredible inventions! It’s great to see that the spirit of eco innovation is alive and well in today’s youth!
Wow, they’ve done more in their so-far short lives that I’ve done in 27 years!!!
Man, amazing imagination and talent! Wish I was that cool when I was a kid!