Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of
Javier Fernandez-Han
Age 9 - Sees the Lemelson Foundation exhibit on inventors at Boston MOS, particularly drawn to Dr. Ashok Gadgil.
Age 9 Meets Dr. Gadgil and hears how he learned as a boy to share rice with the poor in his village. Receives autographed patent schema for Dr. Gadgils UV water purifier. First contact with a social entrepreneur role model. Seed planted in Javier.
Age 11 Visits World Expo in Japan. Tours the Doctors without Borders mock triage village. Deeply moved by experience. Decides to use his love of invention and engineering to serve those in poverty. Conceives of Inventors without Borders.
Age 14 Incorporates Inventors without Borders (IWB) as a NGO to lead teens to invent technology solutions for real problems faced by other 90% of the world living in poverty. IWB motto: Never too young to make a difference. Awarded seed funding from Ashoka Youth Venture.
Age 15 Leads a team of teenagers to create a humanpowered refrigerator as an IWB Demonstration project.
Age 15 Invents VERSATILE, a comprehensive algae-powered system for treating waste, producing methane and bio-oil as fuel, producing food for humans and livestock, sequestering greenhouse gases while producing oxygen. Selected from 300 entries from 30 countries to win the Ashoka Lemelson Invent Your World $20,000 Grand Prize.
Age 16 Wins the Spirit of Innovation Award in Renewable Energy for ACWa (Affordable Clean Water), Javiers invention for creating clean drinking water from humid air using the renewable energy sources of wind, geothermal, and solar. Targets the Millennium Development Goal for improving worldwide access to freshwater. Additionally, ACWa was selected for commercialization through the Conrad Foundation Portal program. This honor is bestowed upon only one invention each year.
patent-pending
On April 11th, at NASAs Ames Research Center, Javier Fernandez-Han won the Renewable Energy Challenge category in the 2010 Spirit of Innovation Awards program. His ACWa product uses geothermal heat to condense and purify water from humid air for use in rural areas across the globe. In addition to winning the Spirit of Innovation Awards, Javier has been recognized by Popular Science magazine for his ideas, and has founded a not-for-profit organization, Inventors Without Borders to help bring new technologies to rural, poverty stricken areas of the world. During the 2010 Innovation Summit members of the Conrad Foundations Portal committee were able to review the finalists presentations to help determine who will be invited to join the Portal. Javier showed amazing ingenuity in his design and a great desire to continue with the development of his product. The Portal will help Javier take his product to the commercial marketplace, said Nancy Conrad, Chairman of the Conrad Foundation. We catalyze our students passions into real opportunities for them to create technologies that can solve 21st century challenges. Congratulations to Javier and Team ACWa! Were looking forward to the great opportunities to come. 5
Age 16 Establishes the Javier Fernandez-Han Excellence in Community Award for teens who demonstrate exceptional character and community service. Awards scholarships for three teenagers from a very poor community in Mumbai, India who volunteer as teachers in a school for poor children. Scholarships provide for a years worth of school tuition, fees, books, uniforms, and supplies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIFElJT2C9g
Age 16 Creates the Innovation Foundry MIE which is a virtual collaboration of young social innovators from India and the USA to solve a specific problem in a developing community. Works in partnership with My India Powered (MIE), a NGO based in Mumbai, India that operates a school for young children of Tribal aborigines in Mumbai, India. The objective is to invent a way to use inexpensive local materials to rebuild this school which was damaged by monsoons in July, 2010. After months of intense work by the Innovation Foundry - MIE teams in Mumbai and Houston, the MIE school was rebuilt and reopened on March 6th, 2011. Recently added a team from Cupertino, California to help generate funding for micro-loans for the villagers whose children are served by the MIE school in Mumbai. http://innovationfoundrymie.wordpress.com/
Age 16 Co-develops the Invent and Innovate learning program for youth aged 14 22. The Invent and Innovate program inspires and enables youths to use creativity and design-thinking to invent products and services to solve problems in their local communities. Program is being used in several secondary schools in the USA.
Javier training teachers to teach the Invent and Innovate Program in the USA.
Age 16 Developing the Inventors Village, an innovative toolkit and training program to enable youth to use their imagination and talents to invent solutions to solve problems in their local communities. Inventors Village consists of: Thinking Tools Natures Designs Inspiring Inventions Heuristics for Idea Generation Domain-specific knowledge - Physics
Based on research of creative problem-solving techniques used in a variety of countries including USA, Italy, Russia.
National Algae Association Concluding keynote speech on the VERSATILE system for the September meeting of National Algae Association in Houston September, 2009
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic church Speech at Life Teen event about social justice to 400 fellow teenagers November 2009 and March 2010
Lone Star College Montgomery - Speech to Wunche High School Students, October, 2009
Lone Star College Montgomery - Speech to Biotechnology class taught by the Director of biotechnology, November, 2009
Speech to East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy titled Have Fun and Change a Life April 13, 2010
Speech to Stanford New Schools East Palo Alto Academy also titled Have Fun and Change a Life April 12, 2010
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Age 15 - Javier delivers a presentation on the Engines of Innovation to 200 professionals and journalists at the Codes of Innovation forum in San Sebastian, Spain hosted by Ibermatica, an information technology consulting firm.
http://www.ibermatica.com/ibermatica/eventos/2009/5EncuentroAnualDeInnovacion
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Age 16 Javier is selected as one of 14 global young social innovators to participate in Ashokas Tech4Society conference in Hyderabad, India. Javier is the youngest participant and the only youth invited from the USA. Javier makes a presentation to hundreds of distinguished Ashoka Fellows and other social innovators from around the globe. Javier encourages them to invest in mentoring young social innovators. Javier describes the pivotal role that one Ashoka Fellow, Dr. Ashok Gadgil, played in inspiring him to pursue social innovation for his career. http://tech.ashoka.org/javier_fernandez_han
Dr. Gadgil and Javier reunited in Hyderabad
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Age 16 - Javier delivers a presentation on Creating Future Inventors to 600 dignitaries, professionals and journalists at the IMPULSA Forum in Girona, Spain hosted by the Prince of Girona Foundation. Presentation is streamed to 1,200 universities world-wide. http://en.fundacioprincepdegirona.org/impulsa/speakers/javier-fernandez-han/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZRC_nxn8FQ
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Age 16 - Javier leads an innovation seminar titled Generate Many Ideas Quickly for Martek Biosciences, Inc., the world leader in algae and yeast based biotechnology.
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Age 16 Javier speaks about Inventing Inventors at TEDxYouth@Taipei at the Red House in the Ximen district of Taipei City on November 20, 2010. http://blog.tedxtaipei.com/
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Age 15 Javier selected as one of three inaugural international Global Youth Fund Youth Fellows to receive support and recognition for social innovation projects.
Age 16 Javier selected as a Global Citizen Corps Leader to participate in the 2010 Leadership Summit.
Age 15 Javier appointed by the National Algae Associations founder as the NAA Youth Outreach Director to liaise with high school students interested in the NAA.
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Age 15 Javier is selected by 7 Days Across America as one of 14 American teenagers who exemplify virtuous character in making a difference in the world. He is featured in local news. Javier is also featured in the film 7 Days Across America: what is right with the American teenager which was released on September 14th, 2010.
http://www.7daysacrossamerica.com/
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Age 15 Javier is recognized as one of USAs top high school inventors by Popular Science magazine in the September, 2009 issue. Javier is shown with a prototype of his family-sized VERSATILE 3 bio-energy system. 18
Age 17 Javier is selected by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum to be featured in the Legacy Gallery for Science and Innovation for his work in inventing solutions for developing communities and in enabling fellow youth inventors.
http://www.jfk50.org/
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Age 17 Javier is recognized as one of USAs top high school inventors by Popular Science magazine in the September, 2011 issue. Javiers Inventors without Borders and Innovation Foundry ventures are cited.
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Age 17 Javier joins dozens of professionals, scientists and entrepreneurs as a speaker at the High Tech Conference held at Lone Star College on October 21, 2011. Javiers topic is: To Invent Is Human: Idea Generation http://www.lonestar.edu/18205.htm#han
Age 17 Javier joins dozens of professionals, scientists and educators as a speaker at the Innovation in STEM Education Conference held at Harmony Schools Administration Building on November 15, 2011 in Houston. Javiers topic is: Innovation Foundry Young Innovators Inventing a Better World. https://sites.google.com/site/cosmosste mconference/Home
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Age 17 Javier is the youngest speaker at TEDxTheWoodlands on September 24th, 2011. Javier speaks on: Demystifying Creativity You Dont Have to be Creative to be Creative. He introduces his model of Mundane Creativity.
http://tedxthewoodlands.com/program/
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Age 17 Javier is recognized as one of the 30 noteworthy energy innovators under the age of 30 by Forbes for his innovative designs using renewable energy in the December, 2011 issue of Forbes 30 Under 30: Energy.
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef4 5eldh/javier-fernandez-han-inventorversatile-17/
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Age 17 Javier conceives and produces TEDxYouth@TheWoodlands on January 7th, 2012. Javier showcases 22 youth and adults speakers and performers for the theme of: Imaginate: Imagine and Create.
http://tedxyouththewoodlands.com/
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