Meet Roy Kim, the 13-year-old Oregon student who designed a chamber that turns moisture in the air into water for drought-hit farms

“Do what you can do tomorrow, today,” says Roy Kim, a 13-year-old Oregon student who has solved the water crisis for numerous farmers in the region. The teenager developed a device that turns moisture in the air into water, helping farmers access a sustainable and reliable source of water in drought-prone areas, as per a report by Young Scientist Lab.As global warming continues to increase, farming becomes more and more difficult for the farmers who rely on water for irrigating their crops. Most of the time, they rely on sources such as groundwater, surface water and rainfall for the same, but over the years, these sources can deplete. This is why Kim created a device that uses the Peltier Module to turn moisture present in the air into water.

Understanding the module

Kim created a device that uses the Peltier Module to turn moisture present in the air into water.

According to Kim, a Peltier module creates a temperature difference when electricity is applied, making one side hot and the other side cold. “This allows warm air to cool rapidly when it reaches the cold surface, causing water vapour in the air to condense into liquid drops,” he explained. After multiple tests and improvements, Kim finalised the design of the device.The air enters the chamber through the hot side where a heating element connected to a filter module warms the air. The warm air then moves through the fan to the cold side. Water droplets formed here sink due to the temperature difference between the surface and the air. The collected water then flows into a funnel and is distributed to the plants through a valve.In order to ensure that the plants are getting the right amount of water and not excess, they have a soil moisture sensor placed in the soil which decides when the plants need water. “In addition, temperature and humidity sensors monitor the environment and if conditions become too extreme, they automatically adjust the airflow to maintain efficient water production,” said Kim.After testing, the device was able to produce 10ml of water in two hours. Its highest efficiency was 135.8 g per kilowatt-hour. “Through this project, I didn’t just create water. I combined natural processes with engineering to develop a sustainable solution for farming,” he added.

Entering competition

Roy Kim, a student of Whitford Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon, entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, an annual top middle school science competition in the US run by 3M and Discovery Education, which challenges students in grades 5 to 8 to use problem-solving and innovation to fix everyday issues. When asked about why he wanted to enter the challenge, Kim said, “I entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because I wanted to showcase my invention to people around the world. If more people are aware of this problem and the potential solution, the problem might be able to de-escalate.”According to the US Department of Agriculture, between 2010 and 2020, agriculture was a major user of ground and surface water in the US and irrigation accounted for 47% of the nation’s total freshwater withdrawals during the period. Approximately 212,714 farms in the country depend on natural water sources for irrigation.But with Kim’s invention, the number can be decreased gradually. 15 years from now, he hopes to come up with even more such solutions as he wants to become a successful engineer who works on solving rising problems across the globe, specialising in the environmental field.Currently, he is among the top 10 national finalists in the challenge. The final event and winner announcement for the same will take place on October 12-13, 2026.