āI have not failed. Iāve just found 10,000 ways that wonāt work.ā
ā&²Ō²ś²õ±č;Thomas Edison
February 11 was National Inventorsā Day, a day for us to celebrate the inventions that have shaped our lives, while recognizing the genius behind them. This day also provides an annual opportunity to encourage and inspire the creators of the future.
In 1983, President Ronald Regan designated February 11 ā the birthday of Thomas Alva Edison, one of Americaās most prolific inventors ā as the first National Inventorsā Day. In his , Regan wrote, āinventors are the keystone of the technological progress that is so vital to economic, environmental and social well-being,ā and these words are even more pertinent today than they were when he declared them almost 40 years ago.
Few things are more urgently impacting our economic, environmental and social well-being than the current pandemic. As the Executive Director and CEO of , I feel strongly that it is our mission to ensure graduates of are prepared to enter the global workforce and take on the ever-growing challenges facing our planet. Past, present and future STEM students play a fundamental role in developing meaningful solutions to societal problems, such as the public health crisis we are currently facing. The innovation and creativity of inventors is key to our success in combating COVID-19.
Since the outbreak, health care professionals, scientists and engineers have been working together to stop the virusā spread and improve the outlook for those already infected with COVID-19. Some of the first to do so were Johns Hopkins University (JHU) graduate students Hongru Du and Ensheng (Frank) Dong, who were part of Professor Lauren Gardnerās team in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering (CSSE) that created the . Launched January 22, 2020, this tool quickly became the worldās leading source of centralized real-time data on the pandemic. Iām excited that these students will be delivering a panel at the , which will be held virtually for the first time April 14ā16.
Since the pandemic began, many student inventors have been designing solutions for respirator and mask shortages, and other solutions to ease the strain of the virus. A perfect example of students inventing solutions for todayās challenges is the who built lightweight low-cost ventilators out of car parts to help their country fight the virus. Known as the āAfghan Dreamers,ā the group of high school girls was formed to increase awareness of women in STEM and encourage the acceptance of women pursuing an education in the STEM fields.
Afghanistan has a population of over 38 million but had less than 1000 ventilators when the pandemic hit. With the world experiencing a shortage of ventilators and a traditional ventilator costing between $20,000 to $50,000 USD, the team replicated a model that professionals at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had created and altered it to reduce the price. They used materials from reused car parts like windshield wipers from old Toyota Corollas. The result: an easy-to-carry ventilator that can run on battery power for 10 hours and costs roughly $700 to produce. The ventilator is still undergoing final testing from health authorities before it can be used, but this group of teenage girls is clearly making a big impact.
āOur greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.ā
ā Thomas Edison
Another admirable example is , whose organization, , has that has been circling in the . While scuba diving in Greece, the then 16-year-old was surprised to see more plastic than fish, and his curiosity led him to dig deeper into the issue. Learning that no one had made any serious large-scale attempt to rid our oceans of plastic pollution, Slat set out to develop a solution. By his early 20s, he had developed The Ocean Cleanup system, a U-shaped barrier and net-like skirt that collects plastic as it floats. His organization then into sustainable products.
Fueled by his curiosity to understand our plastic pollution problem, Slat serves as an inspiration for how we can all make an impact. He is a contemporary inventor who addressed a real problem weāre facing today.
Last month, I wrote about the ā how it has helped humans adapt, evolve and survive, and how it will help us solve current real-world problems, from COVID-19 and climate change to poverty and inequality. This National Inventorsā Day, as we celebrate Thomas Edison and other great inventors who have developed some of societyās greatest technological advances, letās inspire our students to be curious and foster their creativity to help invent solutions to the worldās pressing challenges.