A broken air conditioning unit is something many Texans know a little too much about. Of course, rarely do families send in their kids to fix the problem when their A/C starts acting up. However, that’s exactly what happened to one Colleyville family, and now their son’s invention that helped solve their air conditioning problems has him up for the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.”
In October, 14-year-old Daniel Thomas of Colleyville will compete against nine others in the 2022 3M Young Scientist Challenge. The competition, which is held at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, comes with a grand prize of $25,000. “I still can’t believe it, because, well, there’s a lot of great topics. I was ... looking at the other finalists, and I’m like, ‘Wow, this is like really good,’” said Thomas.
According to Fort Worth Star Telegram, Thomas’ entry is a dosing pump to prevent clogs and bacterial overgrowth in air conditioner condensate lines. The teen got the idea after watching his father and HVAC technicians repair clogged lines at their house. Hopefully his invention is good enough to win the title, but if not at least it will help keep A/C units running.
LISTEN on the Audacy App