This 12-year-old Massachusetts student asked why energy from walking goes to waste; he built a system to turn movement into electricity

A simple walk was enough to make 12-year-old Ahmed Abdelsalam wonder about something most people never consider: what happens to all the energy our bodies produce while moving? That question sent the Cambridge, Massachusetts, student on a seven-month journey of designing, 3D printing, and repeatedly rebuilding prototypes. The result is VERDA, a technology designed to harvest mechanical energy from movement such as walking, wind and waves and convert it into electrical energy. The invention has now made Ahmed one of 10 finalists in the 2026 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

A walk sparked the idea

Ahmed, a student at Darby Vassall Upper School in Cambridge Public Schools, was walking when he began thinking about the law of conservation of energy, which he had learnt about in science class. “If this energy already exists around us, how do we let it go to waste?” he recalled wondering, according to Cambridge Day. Instead of leaving the question in the classroom, Ahmed began teaching himself computer-aided design and 3D printing as he developed VERDA. The concept uses ferrofluid, a liquid containing magnetic particles. Movement of the device helps generate an electrical charge to create a system capable of powering itself.

His prototype kept leaking

Ahmed discovered that ferrofluid was leaking through microscopic pores in his 3D-printed prototype. He spent about three months adjusting its dimensions, printing speed and other parameters before solving the problem. The setback is significant because VERDA remains a developing prototype rather than a commercially proven source of electricity. Ahmed imagines small-scale applications such as attaching the technology to a runner's clothing, where movement could potentially generate power for a wearable device. He does not see VERDA as a replacement for established renewable sources such as solar or wind power.

Scientists are exploring energy from footsteps too

The principle behind Ahmed's idea belongs to a wider area of engineering known as energy harvesting, where otherwise unused energy in the surrounding environment is captured for practical purposes. Researchers are actively investigating the potential. A 2026 study published in Energy Conversion and Management, for example, tested footstep energy-harvesting pavement and demonstrated a system that can produce electricity from pedestrian movement. The researchers described improving efficiency as an important challenge for broader application.

Separate research published this year has explored wind-induced energy harvesters for small-scale electrical applications, showing that Ahmed's interest in capturing energy from everyday motion mirrors an active field of engineering research. Ahmed will continue refining VERDA with 3M scientist and mentor Abhishek Srivastava before the national finals in October. The competition brings together students aged 11 to 14, with the eventual winner receiving $25,000 and the title of America's Top Young Scientist.