Invent Your World Winners

Invent Your World 2009 Ashoka Lemelson Award Winners

Invent Your World 2009 “What can you invent to make life easier, the planet greener and the world better?” That was the key question posed by the 2009 Invent Your World Challenge - a partnership between Ashoka’s Youth Venture and the Lemelson Foundation. Nearly 300 youth from 30 countries answered the call with their own invention ideas. Fifty invention ventures are being launched. A panel of judges met to pick the top ﬁve...

Ashoka Lemelson Awards Excellence Award The VERSATILE System $20,000 scholarship Javier Fernandez-Han, 15 Trip to global roundtable on Houston, TX, USA climate change at MIT Achievement Award AVANZA $1,000 prize Pablo Alejandro Medrano, 23 Trip to global roundtable on Andrea Céspedes, 25 climate change at MIT Salta, Argentina Dynamic Photovoltaics Eden Full, 16 Calgary, AB, Canada Handibot Vincent Thiberville, 20 Champs sur Marne, France Rainwater for Humanity Carolyn Aker, 18 Providence, RI, USA

“An invention that is narrowly focused on solving a single problem often inadvertently creates more problems because nature is highly complex and interconnected.“ Javier Fernandez-Han Age 15 Houston, TX, USA

Invent Your World 2009 The VERSATILE System At the tender age of 9, Javier Fernandez-Han found his calling: design for the other 90 percent - help the world’s poor meet their basic needs sustainably. Several years of research and design have led to an innovative solution: The VERSATILE System - a mashup of new and existing technology that treats waste, produces methane and bio-oil as fuel, produces food for humans and livestock, Javier Fernandez-Han, 15 sequesters greenhouse gases, and produces Houston, TX, USA oxygen. Learn More What drives this complete energy resource system? Algae - the little organism that could. Gone are the days when algae are viewed only as “pond scum.”

“Every 30 seconds, there is an amputation due to diabetes, which translates to more than one million amputations a year. The good news is that 85% of these amputations can be prevented.“ Pablo Alejandro Medrano Age 23 Salta, Argentina

Invent Your World 2009 AVANZA Pablo Alejandro Medrano has seen the impact of “diabetic foot” ﬁrst hand. His own grandfather suffered from diabetes, developed an infection on his feet, and had to have both legs amputated. This explains his passion for AVANZA, a venture Pablo launched with Andrea Céspedes to make disposable cellulose insoles for diabetics. They Pablo Alejandro Medrano, 23 help users better oxygenate the feet, maintain Jovita Andrea Céspedes, 25 better hygiene, and prevent infections that can lead Salta, Argentina to amputation. The insoles meet doctors’ recommendations for feet care and are new to the Argentine market.

“What began as a simple personal interest in solar energy turned into something more meaningful when I realized I could use my passion for science to help others improve energy accessibility in developing countries.“ Eden Full Age 16 Calgary, AB, Canada

Invent Your World 2009 Dynamic Photovoltaics Harvesting solar energy can be a costly enterprise but Dynamic Photovoltaics is making it more affordable - and efﬁcient - by developing the ﬁrst cost-effective solar panel tracking system capable of accurate movement. That means the panels can follow the sun’s movement throughout the day. More direct exposure means better performance. Eden Full, 16 Calgary, Canada Not only is the system easy to operate, it is also made of commonly found affordable materials, making it easy to maintain in developing countries.

“By giving handicapped people access to artistic creation, we are hoping to create a feeling of liberation.“ Vincent Thiberville Age 20 Champs sur Marne, France

Invent Your World 2009 Handibot Handibot’s mission is simple yet ambitious: create robots that can help physically and mentally challenged people express their creativity through painting. It started when a painter who acquired polyarthritis asked Vincent Thiberville to create technology that could help him paint despite his illness. Since then, Vincent has developed seven prototypes to address Vincent Thiberville, 20 different needs. Champs sur Marne, France Watch Video The latest modiﬁcation allows the used paint water to be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way.

“As students in a country where we can choose which type of water to drink, we want to give everyone access to what should be a basic human right.“ Carolyn Aker Age 18 Providence, RI, USA

Invent Your World 2009 Rainwater for Humanity Rainwater for Humanity helps villagers of Kuttanad, India harvest rain in order to conserve water, empower women entrepreneurs, and boost community health. The team of Brown University students have optimized the design of rainwater storage reservoirs and catchment systems, ensuring that they are simple, sustainable, and eco-friendly. Using locally available materials, they construct cisterns with 265 ft3 capacity and built-in puriﬁcation systems to capture rain from existing rooftops. Each structure will provide a family with a Carolyn Aker, 18 year’s worth of clean water, eliminating disease as Providence, RI, USA well as save them the four hours a day that would otherwise be spent gathering water.

For more information on Invent Your World and this year’s invention ventures, please visit www.genvcampaigns.org To interview winners and other young inventors please email info@genvcampaigns.org Got an idea that can change the world? Launch your own social venture! Check out Ideas 2 Venture on GenVCampaigns.org

http://socialentrepreneurship.change.org	930
http://genvcampaigns.org	746
http://news.change.org	459
http://www.instructables.com	217
http://labs.vinspired.com	167
http://greenerpower.wordpress.com	75
http://tech.ashoka.org	40
http://www.scholarshipsforengineering.com	23
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	17
http://www.slideshare.net	6
http://www.remake.fi	2
http://aworldofwater.org	2
http://notreadyforprofit.com	1
http://74.125.113.132	1
http://209.85.133.132	1
http://socialentrepreneurship.change.org:80	1
http://twitmatic.com	1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1

Invent Your World Winners

by Ashoka's Youth Venture on Jun 03, 2009

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