Innovative Minds: Minula Weerasekera

Whitford Middle School | 8th grade | 13 years old

Creating an Organic Redox Battery

About the Idea

Meet Minula. Minula created a solution for storing energy for longer through organic compounds and a sulfur-based terhiophene.

Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?

I entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge to showcase to the world how as teenagers, we are currently working to solve big problems with our society. Age is not just a number, young people should not be overlooked when looking into methods of solving real-world problems, impacting 1000s if not 1,000,000s of people.

What is your favorite invention of the last 100 years, and why?

My favorite invention of the last 100 years is the World Wide Web, the internet, or World Wide Web changed everything as we know it. The internet was the start of an age, where humans could access all pieces of human knowledge from a device inside their pocket. Compared to the effort and time it took previously to learn new information or skills (most presumably going to a library), the World Wide Web made all that information accessible and easy for all to find.

In 15 years I hope to be...

A successful STEM engineer working to solve big problems in our society, specializing in environmental and electrical engineering.