What were you doing when you were 18?

Saturday was a pretty busy day for me, as I was heading from an early afternoon event to dinner to an evening event to drinks downtown. Now, I can handle a busy day like that but I'm not always convinced by phone will. I have an android that lasts the majority of a typical day with only moderate use. I have a tendency to use it on the weekends a few more, and even with battery-saving apps, I find myself with a flashing red light sooner than I would like.

If I do get 10 minutes in the car or a half hour at home, I immediately plug in my phone but often it's not enough. If I could charge my phone in 30 seconds though, that would be nice.



This is 18-year old Eesha Khare, and according to NBC, the device she is holding is a "fast-charging device is a so-called supercapacitor, a gizmo that can pack a lot of energy into a tiny space, charges quickly and holds its charge for a long time. What's more, it can last for 10,000 charge-recharge cycles, compared with 1,000 cycles for conventional rechargeable batteries."

She invented it because she, like me, had issues with her cell phone battery. When I was 18, I was a freshman in college and my biggest concern was passing calculus and trying to figure out where I was going to get a case of beer for the weekend. She's winning a $50,000 grant from Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.