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15-year-old advances in Google Science Fair with human-powered flashlight design

Ann Makosinski says her first childhood toy was a box of transistors.

Now, the 15-year-old from Victoria is getting international attention for a “human-powered flashlight” she’s invented—one powered by the heat of your hand.

The flashlight uses Peltier tiles, which produce electricity when heated on one side and cooled on the other. (A hollow pocket allows air to provide the cooling effect.)

Makosinski won a spot as the only Canadian in the finals of the Google Science Fair. She believes her invention could help remote communities where electricity isn’t always accessible—and it might even net her Google’s grand prize, a $50,000 scholarship.

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