2009 Innovation in Education Award Finalist

Philip Jia

Finalist: Emerging Student Innovator
Troy High School
Fullerton Union High School District

“My experience truly launched my interest in engineering and design.  Through all the problems and design dilemmas that our team ran into, I only gained a more pragmatic and realistic perspective on design, but I also became interested in finding out how anything from everyday objects to the newest technologies work, and how they could work better” —Philip Jia, Student, Troy High School

Program Description

An awareness of the dangers faced by coconut climbers in harvesting countries motivated Philip Jia to lead an InvenTeam to design a robot that would climb the trees and harvest the fruit without compromising the safety of local workers. One of the team’s foremost concerns was the possibility of replacing workers with machines, so they did extensive research and settled on a device that would require a single operator.  They settled on a device that would eliminate the need for anyone to climb coconut trees and created the opportunity for operation by other family members such as women, teenagers or elders.

In October of last year, Philip’s team became one of sixteen InvenTeams across the country to receive a $10000 grant and had a year to design and manufacture their first prototype to be presented at MIT, and went on with a revised design, to be one of four teams chosen to present their second prototype.

Philip and his team learned from long hours puzzling over non-functioning motors and circuit boards how important the details of a design can be, and writing monthly progress reports helped them to be organized and plan ahead.

Currently, the team has researched and is looking into non-governmental organizations like UNESCO or other charitable organizations to help distribute and pay for the cost of bring the final products to market.