Teen Innovator Goes Global

How many teenagers can say they've been awarded a provisional patent for an invention, met a crown prince of Arabia, and given a speech in front of thousands of people?

Aidan Dwyer can.

The Northport Middle School student, who has been awarded a provisional patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for his innovations involving solar panel arrays, was invited to speak at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi earlier in January. He was in good company. Other speakers included Wen Jiabao, Premier of China, Kim Hwang-sik, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Sir Robert Swan, the first person ever to have walked to the North and South Poles.

Dwyer delivered opening remarks at the four-day conference, which included an exhibition hall and various discussions involving innovation and growth in the renewable energy sector. He also gave a presentation about his project before other young innovators and received a Young Future Energy Leader Award.   "It was cool hearing their stories and learning about what they do," Dwyer  said of the other attendees, many of whom were graduate and undergraduate students.

One of the high points for Dwyer was meeting His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, an experience which he described as “cool.”  Apparently he was a hit with the royal;  Aidan’s mother said the Crown Prince invited him back.

While in Abu Dhabi, the Dwyer family was able to enjoy a little down time.  They experienced “dune bashing,” which involves a rollercoaster-like ride up and down the dunes in a jeep. Aidan said he enjoyed that but wasn’t too impressed by sand-boarding.  “The sand kept coming on top of the board and slowing it down," he explained.

To top it off, Aidan turned 14 on the trip. He celebrated the day with his family at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Abu Dhabi.

Maureen and Sean Dwyer said the attention has been non-stop ever since Aidan created a in a backyard experiment earlier in the year.  The small solar panels, arranged according to a mathematical principle found in nature called the Fibonacci Sequence, produced 20 percent more energy than flat planel arrays and prolonged the collection window by up to two and a half hours.

Dwyer’s efforts earned him a proclamation from the Town of Huntington and an award from the Museum of Natural History in New York, which dubbed him a “2011 Young Naturalist” in July.

Maureen Dwyer said she thought the Museum’s award would be the end of it.  But then word of Aidan’s work spread over the internet.  “It was a little intimidating,” she admitted. Then the teen was invited to a conference hosted by PopTech, a global community of innovators from many fields who work together to create change, and things really took off.

A number of companies have expressed interest in Aidan’s project. “This is new territory for us so we’re taking it slow,” Maureen said.  The patent process usually takes up to eighteen months but in the meantime, the Dwyers would like to see their son to continue to work on his project through high school.  The eighth grader says he's looking forward to working next year with Brian Horan who heads the science research program at Northport High School.

So what’s a young innovator do in his spare time?  Aidan, who plays golf with his family and sails in the summer, says he really just likes to hang out with his friends, who seem to be handling his new-found fame well. “They don’t really treat me any different,” he says with a smile.

As for the future, Aidan has already been invited to speak at a conference hosted by Proctor & Gamble in September. But for now, the teen is taking it all in stride, staying focused on the present and remaining remarkably grounded.  Asked at the end of our interview about what he was planning to do next, he simply said, “I have to go study for my midterm tomorrow.”