Hollywood celeb is funding Fionn’s pioneering project

THE Schull student who won the Google Global Science Fair in 2019, plus many international awards since, has embarked on a number of new and exciting projects.

Fionn Ferreira (20) is currently living and studying chemistry in Groningen in The Netherlands, but he’s also working on a new online platform to give young inventors the tools required to bring their ideas to life.

The platform – which will be formally launched in mid-March and can be accessed via his website fionnferreira.com – allows young scientists and inventors to share their ideas and methods.

It was the National Geographic Society that provided Fionn with the funding and support to establish the new platform.

The funding was part of the prize Fionn received at the end of 2020, when he was selected as one of the National Geographic Society’s 24 Young Explorers working on new projects.

Fionn’s own invention – how to remove plastics from the sea – earned him the Google award. It is currently being developed by Fionn and a group of engineers in Ohio in the US.

In an interview with The Southern Star, Fionn said he believes he will be able to license that technology later this year.

Fionn’s work in this field is being funded by a major Hollywood celebrity – the name of whom will be announced in due course.

He is also writing a children’s book aimed at inspiring young people to view science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) as an interesting career choice.

The book is expected to be a companion piece for a TV series that is currently at the conception stage.

‘The idea is to encourage young people to try out their ideas even though they might seem difficult,’ he said.

Fionn’s inspiration for the platform, the book, and the TV series, comes from his belief that ‘the creative way children play is essential in the process of scientific discovery and invention.’

And, as if all that wasn’t enough, Fionn can also be seen in the latest HP laptops commercials that are being televised worldwide.