What were you doing when you were twelve?

Hi fellow bloggers! Over the past few weeks, we have seen a lot of nifty innovations. Sometimes, an innovative idea doesn’t have to be complicated. On the contrary, in this blog entry we will see that even a twelve-year-old can imagine one. 

Meet Billy Schopf. While some twelve-year-olds are concerned with having the newest jeans or knowing the latest celebrity gossip, Billy is concerned with saving the environment. He wants to prevent the world from running out of fossil fuels. That is why he invented a wind-powered generator for electric and solar car batteries, which makes solar-powered cars more efficient.

The idea is simple: grown-ups invented solar cars, but Billy wondered how these cars will be able to drive during the night. The solution: you should turn to another natural resource, wind; and install a wind engine on your car. He uses the concept of a windmill to load the car battery during the night.

Billy requested a patent for this innovation. He was already rewarded with the Da Vinci Science Center Science Hall of Fame's Young Scientist Award in 2010. Even officials of the Obama government are said to have shown their interest.

So, what were you doing when you were twelve? I found this question very confronting. This young boy is the future. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of time left for us to change the world. For now, let’s just focus on giving a kick-ass presentation tomorrow. Good luck everyone!

Karen V.