Emily Cummins Interview
04 August 2009
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Emily Jayne Cummins is an English inventor and entrepreneur and at the tender age of 22 she is already an ambassador for The Women of Achievement and the Girls! Make Your Mark campaign, all whilst developing an evaporative refrigerator that does not require electricity!
Having bagged herself the prize of Female Innovator of the Year for 2007 from the British Female Inventors and Innovators Network as well as a £12,000 sponsorship from NESTA, i caught up with this amazing woman to find out what I need to do to follow in her footsteps.
How did you get involved with inventing?
I had a really inspirational granddad who gave me a hammer when I was four years old! We used to spend hours together in his shed at the bottom of the garden, taking things apart and putting them back together again. By the time I started at high school it meant I already understood the properties of different materials and how certain machinery worked. I’d always had a creative spark and because it was encouraged from an early age I suppose I had the confidence to take it forward and start inventing for myself.
Who is your green inspiration?
Trevor Baylis, and in particular his wind-up radio, should be seen as a benchmark of inspiration and an example of what innovation can produce. Here is a product that’s the same quality as its electrically-run counterpart but without the harmful carbon emissions. This concept – to maintain the quality while neutralising the damage to the environment – must be extended to all the other appliances we can’t seem to function without such as TVs, cookers, dishwashers, computers, even cars.
What do you think is the most important invention of the 21st Century?
The internet is undoubtedly the most useful, and most used, recent invention. We rely on the internet for all sorts, from communicating with friends and family to looking up travel arrangements, jobs, entertainment – just about everything! When I’m inventing I always go online to do preliminary research, as do many other inventors, so in that sense the internet is invaluable because it has contributed to so many other great ideas.
Why is it important that new inventions are green?
Global warming is a very real threat and it’s important we all do our bit to sustain the planet for future generations. No matter what, people will carry on using luxury items which make their lives easier and more enjoyable – therefore, it’s the responsibility of individual designers and whole companies to produce new products which are green but importantly still fulfil people’s expectations. Just like Trevor Baylis’s wind-up radio, the key is to creating quality green alternatives to the items which people have come to rely on.
Where can people go if they want to get involved in green inventing?
Right now, I’d recommend people check out npower’s Bright Ideas competition – it’s a search for new energy saving ideas and inventions which could make a real difference to the way we live our lives. The website is full of tips on how to get started and how to protect your ideas.
What’s your top green tip for saving energy?
Most people know what they can do to save energy – for example, we should switch lights off when we leave a room and take our computers off stand-by. However, we can all be guilty of forgetting these tips from time to time. At the moment I’m looking into ways we can generate renewable energy in our own homes – hopefully I’ll come up with some innovative methods which will make energy saving a force of habit for most people.
How do you juggle Uni with your inventing? How do you squeeze in time to relax?
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