3 child innovators who revolutionised the STEM world 

Students are fascinated by real-life stories of discoverers and inventors. Some of them even start dreaming of becoming renowned scientists. But only a few are able to fulfil their ambitions during their formative years. Those who can, are child prodigies whose contributions amaze the world. We are here with the stories of 3 child innovators who have revolutionised the STEM world.  

Kelvin Doe 
Born in 1996, Kelvin Doe is regarded as the world’s youngest self-taught engineer. At the age of 12, Doe invented a battery regulated generator to power homes in a power deficit town called Freetown, near his hometown Sierra Leone. He has also invented innovative devices like a microphone, radio and sound amplifier, and a tri-channelled mixer; his speciality being he built all of these using scrap metals. Apart from these, Doe is known for being the youngest participant in MIT’s ‘Visiting Practitioner’s Programme.’ He is also famous for being a self-educated DJ and building his own radio and broadcasting station in his hometown where he is popularly regarded as DJ Focus. At present, 25-year-old Doe runs his own tech firm called K-Doe Tech Inc. where he designs and manufactures consumer electronics.  

Ann Makosinski 
Born in 1997, this Canadian innovator is famous for her invention of thermoelectric flashlight at the age of 15, for which she had received the Google Science Fair first prize in 2013. She had named the flashlight as Hollow Flashlight and its speciality is that it draws power from a person’s body heat, and requires neither current supply nor batteries. Her inspiration was to help a friend who struggled to study at night because of frequent power failures in her locality. Her innovation was also recognised by TEDx Vancouver and Richmond following which she had also won a gold medal at Canada-wide Science Fair in 2013. At present, she is a tech entrepreneur and heads the company called Makotronics Enterprises and has several patents under her name.  

Gitanjali Rao 
Born in 2005, Gitanjali Rao is an American inventor, author and STEM promoter having an Indian origin. At the age of 12, this child innovator became America’s Top Young Scientist for inventing a life-saving device that can measure and detect lead content in the water. The trigger behind this innovation was the Michigan Water crisis during which parts of the state of Michigan had undergone a severe health crisis after drinking water contaminated with high amounts of lead. The name of her device is Tethys and is custom-made to reveal water quality information via Bluetooth and a battery-powered lead sensing unit. In 2018, Rao was felicitated with US Environmental Youth Award and in 2020 she became the first ever recipient of Time Magazine’s Kid of the Year honour. At present, Rao is pursuing a career in genetic engineering.