17-year-old girl invents sound-powered fire extinguisher that douses flames without water or chemicals, wins gold at international event

A 17-year-old Mexican student, Ángela Karime Venegas Hernández, won gold at the International Science and Invention Fair 2026 in Indonesia for developing Vortex Tech, a prototype that uses low-frequency sound waves to extinguish small flames. Developed over a year with her uncle’s guidance, the device went through five versions and remains experimental, not a replacement for certified fire extinguishers.