ANN MAKOSINSKI

I know a lot of people around the world have these problems where there's just no light, no electricity, nothing.

Sport is one way of keeping kids off their phones.

I think it is important to have a balance of science and arts to be able to be accessible in either fields.

It is important for me to remember that time learning anything substantial, even if it's not my favourite topic, is time well used.

I love to know why things work.

I'm sure we've all had that annoying experience when we desperately need a flashlight, we find one, and the batteries are out. Imagine how much money we would save and the amount of toxins leached into the soil, etc., reduced if we didn't use any batteries in flashlights!

My attention span has never been on point - in school as well - unless I'm very, very, very into something.

If I don't do something constructive every day, I feel like I have wasted my time, and I almost feel guilty for not doing something I could have learned from.

Phone screens are too small to properly appreciate YouTube videos.

I just think we need to find a way, because we don't dispose of them very well; they have very bad chemicals in them. If we could just find a way, maybe start at a small step with eliminating batteries perhaps in small electronic devices, and then possibly in the future go bigger, that would be great.

I think parents are probably really excited for their kids and want to give them everything. But there should be a limit on how much you give your kids. Because kids are quite creative, especially at a young age when they don't really know what rules are.

It's very hard to juggle a science fair project as well as your schoolwork.

Maybe thermoelectricity will be able to power a tablet someday.

What I kind of want to spread as my message to all kinds of youth that I get to reach out to is, you can do cool stuff; you've just got to put in time and be dedicated.

My first toy was a box of transistors.

I studied physics 12 in summer school after I completed grade 12. Did I enjoy it initially? No, I had found physics difficult since grade 11, and I struggled a lot. Did I learn from it? Yes, and as I improved, I started enjoying it more.

I was always taking garbage from around the house and making my own toys. I wasn't given a Wii or an Xbox or anything.

I'd take garbage, and I'd glue them together and create inventions.

Not being given everything encourages you to create... That was one of the first steps for me learning to invent things.

I'm probably not as good in the topics that I'm less passionate about than the ones I spend all my time on.

I have lots of different interests. Any of my friends will know I'm interested both in science and in art.

I think everything starts with an idea. No matter how crazy it is, you should always try to bring it to life.

Creativity was born out of necessity because I didn't have many things to play with.

I was listed in 'Time Magazine''s 'Thirty under Thirty' and have given three TED Talks, too.

I'm really interested in harvesting surplus energy, energy that surrounds but we never really use.