Oregon Student's Invention Converts Air Moisture into Water for Farmers

Drought events are increasing around the world, but in the meantime, a 13-year-old student from Oregon has shown a way that can help farmers make water from air moisture. Roy Kim, a student of Whitford Middle School, has made a chamber that can be used in irrigation by converting air moisture into water. For this brilliant invention of his, he has been selected among the top 10 finalists of the 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Roy's technology uses a Peltier module, which is a device that creates a difference in temperature when electricity is applied. One side heats up while the other side cools down, so that the moisture present in the hot air is converted into water droplets. In this process, air is first sent inside the chamber, where it is heated up, then sent to the cold surface with the help of a fan, so that water droplets are collected through this water valve to determine when the plants should reach the water and the moisture in the soil.