Post-Event Update: Ryan has been selected to be a LearningPlanet Youth Fellow. Click here to learn more. If you'd like to watch Ryan's presentation, click here.
Teen inventor and climate activist Ryan Honary to present in Paris during UNESCO alliance’s LearningPlanet Festival
Newport Beach, California (January 12, 2023) - Each year, LearningPlanet Festival brings hundreds of educators, students, governments and activists from around the globe together to work toward a common goal of teaching individuals to “take care of oneself, others and the planet.” This year, Ryan Honary of Newport Beach, California, will be among them. He will present “The Future of Artificial Intelligence-Driven Environmental Solutions” at the Learning Planet Institute in Paris, France during the LearningPlanet Festival on January 27 from 12-1:30 pm CET (3-4:30 a.m. PST). It can be viewed from anywhere by signing up on the LearningPlanet Festival website.
LearningPlanet Festival is the premier annual event of the LearningPlanet Alliance, a global community dedicated to transforming education and the co-construction of a learning society. The alliance was formed in 2019 by the LearningPlanet Institute and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
During the presentation, Honary will discuss his vision for combating climate change with technology and will offer a demo of his AI-driven wireless mesh network system for detecting environmental disasters such as wildfires. The presentation will also include a panel discussion showcasing the work of other young researchers and innovators making strides in environmental conservation.
Additionally, the event will mark the official beginning of Honary’s Climate Solutions Society. Echoing LearningPlanet Alliance’s commitment to climate education, Honary is choosing to end his presentation by inviting youth climate activists around the globe to “collectively explore further collaborations with other members of the Alliance through new multi-stakeholder paradigms.”
Ryan Honary is an award-winning 15-year-old student at Stanford Online High School, who has been putting his STEM-fueled passion for people and the environment into real action for years. Honary's early wildfire detection solution was originally developed in response to the devastation of the 2018 Camp Fire, including the deaths of 85 people and the destruction of over 18,000 structures at a cost of more than $16.5 billion.
The invention earned him Grand Prize at the 2019 Ignite Innovation Student Challenge and established the Early Wildfire Detection Network, for which he was named the 2020 American Red Cross Disaster Services Hero for Orange County. He also earned a spot in the Top 30 Finalists at the 2020 Broadcom Masters.
In March 2020, Ryan Honary's solution won the prestigious Office of Naval Research (ONR) Naval Science grant. This grant led to the formation of Sensory AI. The company has since received multiple rounds of funding from ONR for continued research and development. He received additional support for the project from Irvine Ranch Conservancy as well as the Orange County Fire Authority.
