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Gen Z Innovators Changing the World
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Gen Z Innovators Changing the World

Aspen Ideas
Aspen Institute, 2022
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Visionary
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

The Aspen Institute’s Aspen Ideas Festival always has some interesting panels, and the 2022 festival didn’t disappoint. In a panel led by Francis Collins, the acting co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, four generation Z innovators outlined their contributions to science, mental health advocacy and information technology. Listeners might walk away believing that gen Z’s energetic blend of social justice and STEM may just have a chance at saving the world.

Summary

Dasia Taylor is a gen Z inventor who created color-changing stitches that detect pH imbalance, alerting doctors to infections even in low-technology settings.

Dasia Taylor wasn’t terribly excited about participating in the science fair – she was less interested in STEM and more interested in public policy, moving the needle on issues plaguing lower-income countries, and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). But then she managed to create a science fair project that combined the social sciences with hard sciences in a way that she found particularly appealing, and she realized that her interests lay in global health.

Taylor’s invention is a special type of stitch that changes color when a wound’s pH changes in a way that indicates infection. The stitch can help doctors know the status of their patients even in low-technology conditions. Out of the 2,000 applicants to the Regeneron Science Talent Search, Taylor placed in the top 40, and she’s now patented her stitches as a medical device and founded a biotech company, all at the tender age of 17. She’s currently a student at the University of Iowa.

Avi Schiffmann...

About the Speaker

Dasia Taylor is a gen Z inventor, Avi Schiffmann is an internet activist, Gitanjali Rao is a youth scientist, Hailey Hardcastle is a mental health advocate and Francis Collins is the acting co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

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