JAVIER FERNANDEZ-HAN

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Javier enjoys painting, photography, playing tennis, dance, leading workshops, and designing inventions. Some of Javier’s interests include:

• Inventors without Borders, Inc.: founder of this 501(c)3  not-for-profit corporation which is dedicated to inspiring and enabling teens to invent solutions to solve problems in their local communities.  (2008)

• Global Youth Fund: Inaugural Youth Fellow (2009)

• Ashoka/Lemelson “Invent Your World” contest: Grand Prize winner for designing The VERSATILE System, a complete food, fuel, sanitation system based on algae, bacteria, and organic waste. Slide presentation here. (2009)

• Global Citizen Corps: Youth Leader (2010)

• Popular Science Magazine – Named as One of USA’s Top 10 High School Inventors for 2009  Article here. (2009)

• Ibermatica “Codes of Innovation” Conference in San Sebastien, Spain – guest speaker. Article here. (2009)

• Seven Days Across America – What is Right About American Youth – award winner. Article here. (2009)

• Javier Fernandez-Han Excellence in Community Scholarship: founder. Video here. (2010)

• Conrad Foundation’s “Spirit of Innovation” Award contest: first place winner for designing the ACWa System, an invention for creating affordable clean drinking water for developing countries. ACWa condenses clean water from humid air using only wind, solar and geothermal energy. The patent-pending ACWa was also selected to receive commercialization support from the Conrad Foundation through its Portal program. Article here. (2010)  The US Patent Office has approved Javier’s patent application and will issue the patent in 2013.

• Prince of Girona-Spain Foundation’s IMPULSA Forum in Girona, Spain – guest speaker. The Prince of Spain invited Javier to speak on “Inventing Inventors.” Video and Video part 2. (2010)

• Invent and Innovate Learning Program:  developer of a program for enabling youth to use their compassion and creative talents to invent solutions to address problems in their local communities. Website. (2010)

• Ashoka Tech4Society Conference in Hyderabad, India: guest speaker. Article – see page 14-15 (2010)

• TEDxYouth@Taipei: guest speaker on “Invention v. Problem-solving”. Video. (2010)

• Interviewed by numerous media including CNN, Channel 13, Great Day Houston, KIAH, KPRC, Ideas Magazine Taipei, NBC Latino, etc.

• Innovation Foundry – My India Empowered: founder of a collaboration of youth between Mumbai, India and Houston, Texas to rebuild a one-room schoolhouse damaged by monsoons. Website.  (2010)

• JFK 50th Legacy Gallery: Science and Innovation featured innovator. Photo. (2011)

• TEDxTheWoodlands: guest speaker on “DeMystifying Creativity – You Don’t Have to be Creative to be Creative”  Program , Summary Video and Full Talk Video. (2011)

• Popular Science Magazine – Named as One of USA’s Top 10 High School Inventors for 2011 Article here. (2011)

• TEDxYouth@TheWoodlands: founder/curator. Website. (2012)

• Forbes Magazine – 30 Under 30 Most Influential Americans: selected for energy sector. Photo. (2012)

• Developer of the Students Pursuing Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (SPICE) program which is being pilot launched at Carl Wunsche High School in Spring, Texas. Website. (2012)

• Designer of H2O, a bicycle-based water desalination and purification system for developing countries. The H2O design won First Place in the Health and Nutrition category in the Conrad Foundation’s Spirit of Innovation Awards contest. Video of the patent-pending H2O invention is here. Photo here. (2012)

• President of The Woodlands Homeschooler’s Venture Crew consisting of teens ranging from 8th to 12th grade.

• TEDxSugarland “Age of Wonderment”: guest speaker on “I Invent, Therefore I Am“, a reflection upon the intimate relationship between philosophy and invention and what it means to be fully human. Website. Video. (2012)

• TEDxTheWoodlands “Play.Wonder.Joy”: lead organizer of this event. Website. (2012)

• Performed research on shape-memory polymers in the Advanced Polymer Laboratory at University of Texas at Dallas, under the supervision of Dr. Walter Voit. (2013)

• Earned a patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,523,980) from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for hisACWa (Affordable Clean Water) invention, a device for harvesting drinking water from humid air using only passive energy sources. Javier invented ACWa to serve developing countries where scarcity of affordable clean drinking water is a critical problem.  Javier Fernandez-Han – Patent for ACWa (2013)

• Inventing Deliberate Altruistic Serendipity (DAS), a set of design principles for creating products and services that create multiple benefits simultaneously, one of which serves the larger society with or without the protagonist’s deliberate intent to do so. (2013)

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  Founded Effloresence International. Efflorescence International is a premier social hybrid venture that creates synergistic opportunities between communities locally and internationally to alleviate poverty. (2015)