Idaho Falls ninth grader recognized for her tsunami preventing invention

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A ninth grade student from Idaho Falls is paving a way with her award-winning invention.

15-year-old Jasmine Lima won second place in the ninth grade category at the seventh annual Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals.

Lima was recognized for her invention of the “T-Sound” or “Tsunami Sound.” This invention, in theory, uses sound waves to neutralize the energy of an upcoming tsunami and not interfere with ocean life.

She was celebrated along with 68 student inventors, kindergarten through 12th grade.

Prior to competing in the national event, Lima had to go through competitions at local and state levels.

To participate in the Invention Convention, she, among other students, had to submit a video presentation, create a prototype, keep a log showing their process and create a display board. 

She presented a 3-D, non-functioning model to resemble what she believes a working model could look like.

But this is not entirely new territory for Lima. Two years ago, she got her first chance to experience the Invention Convention U.S. Nationals with her invention of the “Security Stirrup,” designed to break away from the saddle if a rider falls off their horse.

She says that competition, although it was online, helped prepare her for this year.

Her idea for the “T-Sound” was first inspired by the concern she had about being under tsunami watch while living in Hawaii during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, a year later she was on a boat with her family and the wakes from another boat kept crashing into theirs. She says she kept thinking about the idea to stop the waves with an electrical pulse.

Her connection of the two experiences led her to dive into her passion of science and test her theory.

Lima was not alone throughout this process. She was guided in her studies with the help of Dr. Usama Kadri, a professor at Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom. 

Over several calls for weeks, he was able to help her through equations and give her direction to strategically create the “T-Sound.”

She says both of them are eager for the possibility to take her invention to the next step. They predict creating a real prototype of the “T-Sound” will be around $50,000, which Lima says is a small price to pay compared to the cost of damage a tsunami can create.