Ryan Honary is a multi-award-winning inventor and entrepreneur who has been actively putting his STEM-fueled passion for people, animals, and the environment into action for years. Motivated by devastating wildfires in California, he created a patented AI-Driven Sensor Network for the early detection and growth prediction of wildfires. After winning numerous science awards, his project got the attention of the Orange County Fire Authority, which in February 2025 started deploying his product in high-ignition-risk areas in Orange County and was featured across national media. He received funding from Irvine Ranch Conservancy and formed a startup, SensoRyAI, in 2023. The platform can be used as a low-cost Early Warning System for various environmental hazards. In May 2025, at the International Science & Engineering Fair, the biggest global STEM competition for high schoolers, Ryan won various awards, including 2nd place for the Grand Award in the Embedded Systems Category, a $15000 award from the Office of Naval Research, and a $5000 1st Place Special Qorvo Innovator Award.  Also in April 2025, he finished second in the California Science & Engineering Fair in the Environmental category among all California high schoolers. In April 2024, his project became a Top-Ten global finalist at The Earth Prize, the largest global environmental competition for teenagers, out of thousands of submissions from over 100 countries. He is the recipient of a patent issued as a sole inventor by the US Patent & Trademark Office. He is also the lead author of two published papers in peer-reviewed journals in Proceedings of IEEE 2025 Global AI IOT Conference (where he also presented his paper at the conference) as well as ASME Open Journal of Engineering (where his paper became the most accessed paper in that journal in all of 2025 - an unprecedented feat for a high schooler).

​

In July 2026, the City of Irvine, after over 1 year of testing, announced it would deploy the SensoRyAI Wildfire Risk Management platform in the Irvine Open Space Preserve. This was followed by the City of Laguna Beach announcing its deployment in August 2026, and the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy announcing its deployment around Malibu in September of 2026.

​

After being admitted to multiple prestigious universities, including MIT and Caltech, Ryan chose to attend Stanford University, where he has been awarded a fellowship to advance research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and environmental resilience. Building on his interdisciplinary background in engineering and biological systems, he plans to pursue biomedical engineering to develop innovative technologies that improve human health and address complex real-world challenges.

​

He is also a UNESCO/Learning Planet Youth Fellow and founded an educational non-profit, Climate Solutions Society (CSS), in 2023, where he offers an open version of his SensoRyAI technology platform and mentoring for free to teenagers around the world, enabling them to develop environmental solutions they are passionate about. In both 2023 and 2024, he was invited to present at the United Nations Youth Summit in New York as a Youth Delegate to discuss AI and STEM education for teens and ways to further engage them. In 2023, Ryan won a grant from the International Baccalaureate and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network to help grow his non-profit. In its first year, Climate Solutions Society has grown to 6 chapters across 6 high schools, and Ryan plans to expand internationally. There are now multiple teenagers developing AI- and STEM-based solutions for various environmental problems, leveraging the CSS educational platform. Ryan has been invited to numerous interviews, conferences, and presentations regarding teen education, environmental activism, and the role AI and technology can play for the next generation. 

 

Ryan lives in Newport Beach, California. He is a competitive tennis player and was on The Tennis Recruiting Hot 100 List in April and May 2025. In his free time, he volunteers to teach tennis to kids on the Autism Spectrum. He also likes to surf, snowboard, and play the electric guitar.