A 14-year-old Florida girl’s science project caught the eye of President Obama during the White House Science Fair.
Hannah Herbst created an ocean-energy probe prototype. Last Wednesday, Obama stopped by her exhibit and pulled a string that showed electrical generation by a device using sea water. The design was inspired by her pen pal in Ethiopia as a way of helping developing countries find a stable power source by using untapped energy from ocean currents.
The ninth-grader’s project first started after she entered a science challenge from 3M. She was named America’s 2015 Top Young Scientist and also was mentored by Jeffrey Emslander, a 3M scientist whose inventions have helped reduce emissions to the environment and use less energy in the making of products.
She attends Florida Atlantic University High School.
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