12 Year Old FLL Boy Invents New Solar Cell

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by gblake

I saw these blurbs today in another online location.

However, when I tried to find out what student actually did, I found two things:

• The sorts of nonsensical press release statements found by the OP below, and
• Notices reminding the world that a Georgia Tech research team already invented and patented 3D solar cells, and references to existing solar cell designs that use nanotubes.

From my own personal experience, I know that putting solar cells or other energy converters/trap on towers is nothing new.

So... What did this bright kid really do? The press releases I have found so far are pretty much useless. Who out there knows the real story?

Blake

Personally I don't really care how much of a discovery this really is, because i can guarantee that there are many other groups working with similar solutions as this kid, even with no knowledge of what he did.

What I take from this is that he was inspired by FLL and committed himself to it. He is now getting a 25,000 scholarship for his work. And while we don't know the specifics I suspect that other bright minds have verified his findings. I also think that this kid has a bright future in R&D, regardless of the medium. That kind of commitment to finding a solution is something that many people don't have.


p.s. i bet this kid will be interviewed for one of the future first segments this season.