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How a 12-year-old award winner conceived a revolutionary idea watching the tumble-drier

Bernadotte School student named Young Researcher of the Year

At the age of 12, even Leonardo da Vinci was still probably seeing the world in terms of how much candy he could stuff in his mouth.

But Pavan Venkatraman, a student at the Bernadotte School in the Copenhagen Capital Region of Hellerup, is no ordinary 12-year-old.

One day, the world of tumble-driers fell under his critical gaze, and he asked his mother why they didn’t use one at home.

Because they’re bad for the climate came the reply, and that’s when his brain went into overdrive.

Huge energy reduction
Young Pavan embarked on a mission to find a more efficient and climate-friendly alternative to the tumble dryer. He discovered that clothes can be dried efficiently with a fan that uses only 5 percent of the energy.

“The most exciting thing about my project is probably that I have made a moisture measuring system than can measure the moisture in the clothes, which stops the fan automatically when the clothes are dry,” he explained.

His work has earned him the prestigious title of Young Researcher of the Year.

A unanimous jury had no doubts that Pavan’s junior project was the best, crowning him as the youngest winner of the junior competition ever.