Fresno, California, 14-year-old Varun Masson has invented a catalytic converter that doesn’t rely on precious metals. Designed to reduce carbon emissions and deter theft, his invention was first developed as part of his 8th-grade project for Fresno County's Science Fair. The project allowed the teen to explore his passion for cars while also addressing the problem of frequent catalytic converter thefts, which he’d heard about on the news.
Varun spent six months researching and developing his invention, working in his garage to create a more efficient and less expensive converter. His hard work has earned him a place in the 2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, where he’s one of 300 students across the U.S. selected from nearly 2-thousand entrants.
As the child of Indian immigrants, Varun hopes his story inspires others, especially immigrants, to pursue their ideas and not let labels hold them back. His family is extremely proud of his achievement and he’s amazed by his own success. He’s now looking forward to learning if he will advance to the finals in the national competition and also seeing if his invention can one day be applied to full-size cars.
Source: KMPH