Taylor Wilson built a working nuclear fusion reactor in his garage at age fourteen—with the permission and blessings of his parents, Tiffany and Kenneth, who knew very little about the topic.  (Taylor’s mom runs a yoga studio and his dad works at a cola bottling factory.)  Listen to this:

According to “The Guardian,” Taylor brought “the temperature of its plasma core to 580mC-40 times as hot as the core of the sun.”  And he figured it all out on his own. And yes, he’s a good guy.   Now at age 21, he has a long list of accomplishments which include inventing a bomb detection device that Homeland Security uses in place of their prior equipment.

How did Taylor get to this level of expertise and inventiveness? His parents explain this adventure began with an interest in mechanical processes at age four. Not knowing anything about science themselves, they report being dedicated to following and fueling his interests.

As a toddler, Taylor quickly moved from an interest in toy dump trucks to a passion for the real thing.  It is reported that, by age four, Taylor “abandoned toy dump trucks to play with real traffic cones and barricades. He stood in front of the house directing traffic, wearing a reflective orange vest, yellow boots and a hard hat.”

Taylor’s parents just continued to facilitate Taylor’s passions.

Taylor’s father had a friend in construction. By the time Taylor was five, thanks to his father, Taylor had an opportunity to sit in the lap of a crane operator and work the controls of a six-ton crane himself.  By age nine, Taylor’s interests led him to astronomy: he wanted to be an astronaut.  By ten Taylor was passionately focused on inventing through nuclear physics.

Taylor reports, “I started out with a dream to make a star in a jar, a star in my garage and I end up meeting the President and developing things that I think can change the world and I think other kids can too.”

Watch Taylor presenting his Ted Under 20 Talk, “Yup, I built a nuclear fusion reactor,” as he explains that “kids can change the world”:  http://www.ted.com/playlists/129/ted_under_20

Taylor can be reached through his website at:  http://www.sciradioactive.com