Power Play – Innovation at Harvard

Bringing electricity to remote areas in developing countries is a challenge Harvard graduates Jessica Matthews AB ’10 and Julia Silverman AB ’10 are tackling head on. As students, they developed sOccket, a soccer–ball–shaped device that harnesses the kinetic energy generated as users kick, dribble, or throw it around. Once the energy is stored, small electrical devices such as LED lights can be plugged into sOccket. Matthews and Silverman are now working with organizations serving resource-poor communities to distribute the ball on a larger scale.