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Riley Kuffner - American, North America

2020 Winner | Scientist and entrepreneur | American

Today, our global agricultural system for fresh food is completely broken. Miravel (mirəvel – “to look at the marvel of life”) has created the world’s first fully functioning agriculture system that empowers people everywhere to effortlessly and cost-effectively grow their own food. The company’s hardware product is designed to look beautiful on the wall, but, better yet, it automatically grows a wide range of plants with programmed LED grow lights, fans, and watering. This device works in conjunction with proprietary “seed squares” that contain seeds and nutrients within a specialized growth media for each plant type. A user simply has to pick what they want to grow, place 10 seed squares within the system, fill it with water, and sit back to watch their plants thrive. In 3-5 weeks, they’ll have nutrient-packed produce that’s healthy, sustainable, and fresh from wall to table. The company’s driving mission is to help transition our entire world to this more sustainable model of decentralized food production.

I grew up in a small town just north of San Francisco, California. I am a leader and a builder, determined to combine technology, art, and business to create inventions that help people and change the world. At UCLA, I studied chemistry, materials science, and entrepreneurship with an emphasis on sustainable development, quantum mechanics, ancient art, and finance. I ran a video production business while in high school and started a student organization in college that developed sustainable technologies for the campus and grew to over 120 members. This gave me the tools to found my current company, Miravel recently listed as "One of the 5 Coolest Startups" by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Disclaimer: NOTE: This content was shared online for the 2019 cycle of the Young Champions of the Earth programme and has not been updated. This listing does not constitute any endorsement by nor status with the UN Environment Programme.

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