Texas: Fourteen - year -old Indian-American girl Maanasa Mendu has entered the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge with her HARVEST energy device and won first place. Maanasa’s device was created with the goal of supplying sustainable energy to third-world countries which are severely lacking.
Along with the title of America’s Top Young Scientist, Maanasa was awarded $25,000 to further her academic studies. When asked how she plans to further its reach, she said, “Every summer my family visits India, and there I experienced persistent blackouts. This meant no lighting or air conditioning for my family. But for over one fifth of the global population, darkness remains a permanent reality. Energy is fundamental to modern society and provides a sustainable source of electricity to our entire world.”
When asked how does it work, she said, “My bio-inspired device harvests mechanical energy in the forms of wind and precipitation through the Piezoelectric effect (an amazing phenomena in which certain materials produce electricity when exposed to mechanical strain), and solar energy through organic photovoltaics in a single design. Since my device targets third-world countries, I used recycled, and waste materials whenever possible, and this led to the recyclable “3 leaf harvester” being under $5.
She said, “First, I plan on maximizing the efficiency of my product by testing different materials and configurations. Then, I plan to conduct further practicality testing to determine any other environmental implications. Finally, I plan on reaching out to businesses and non-profit organizations to deploy my innovation across the world!”
