Kiara Nirghin

Last updated

Kiara Nirghin
Kiara.png
Nationality South African
Alma materStanford University
Known forArtificial Intelligence and Patented Science breakthroughs. [1]
AwardsGrand Prize at the Google Science Fair [2]

Global Google Community Impact Award Winner [3]

Time Magazine's Most Influential [4]

Kiara Nirghin is a South African technologist,author, and sustainability advocate. She gained recognition at a young age when she won the Grand Prize at the Google Science Fair with her patented technological innovation against climate change. [5] Nirghin has been featured by TIME Magazine and The Guardian on their Most Influential lists and named one of Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year. She is recognized as a United Nations' Young Champions of the Earth [6] and is a Global Ambassador for Room To Read. [7]

Contents

Early life

At sixteen years old, Nirghin gained international recognition by winning the Google Science Fair with her project "No More Thirsty Crops," which produced a biodegradable, super-absorbent polymer from waste products. [8] The product leveraged advanced artificial intelligence algorithms and data analysis, in an innovative way. She was one of the youngest female winners of the Google Science Fair. [9] Nirghin's word was in response to one of South Africa's worst droughts in 45 years. She developed a unique super-absorbent polymer that holds hundreds of times its weight in water when stored in soil. It is biodegradable, inexpensive and free of harmful chemicals, unlike the manmade materials currently used. The polymer, made entirely from waste products, improves the environment, increases the chance for plants to sustain growth by 84% during a drought and can increase food security by 73% in disaster-struck areas. [10]

Career

Nirghin is a Peter Thiel Fellow [11] and a Fellow of Alexis Ohanian's fund. She is one of the youngest AI executives in Silicon Valley.[ citation needed ] Specializing in researching and building generative AI models, she co-funded Chima, a company using large-scale, venture-backed technology with a focus on sustainability and ethical practices.[ citation needed ]

Nirghin advocates through public and private organizations UN Women, L'Oréal UNESCO for Women in Science, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is also a Global Ambassador for Room To Read [7] and served as the youngest member of Google's Impact Fund. [12]

Nirghin has collaborated with several renowned high fashion brands, leveraging her platform to promote sustainable and innovative fashion practices. [13] merging her technological expertise with the world of high fashion. She has been featured in fashion magazines and attended major fashion events. [14]

Nirghin has partnered with Coca-Cola [15] on their Dreamworld project, which explores the intersection of creativity and technology. She has collaborated with Prada in presenting the Oceans Award at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2022. [16]

Writing

Nirghin published her first book with Penguin Random House and has been invited to contribute articles to TIME Magazine in a piece titled "How Gen Z's AI Fluency Can Help Companies Succeed [17] ", Fast Company [18] and The Economist. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodegradation</span> Decomposition by living organisms

Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradation occurs under a specific set of circumstances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prada</span> Italian luxury fashion house

Prada S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and L’Oréal for fragrances and cosmetics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake fur</span> Fabric intended to mimic fur

Fake fur, also called faux fur, is a pile fabric engineered to have the appearance and warmth of fur. Fake fur can be made from a variety of materials, including polyester, nylon, or acrylic.

<i>The Devil Wears Prada</i> (novel) 2003 novel on which 2006 film is based

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger about a young woman who is hired as a personal assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor, a job that becomes nightmarish as she struggles to keep up with her boss's grueling schedule and demeaning demands. It spent six months on the New York Times bestseller list and became the basis for the 2006 film of the same name, starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt. The novel is considered by many to be an example of the "chick lit" genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium polyacrylate</span> Anionic polyelectrolyte polymer

Sodium polyacrylate (ACR, ASAP, or PAAS), also known as waterlock, is a sodium salt of polyacrylic acid with the chemical formula [−CH2−CH(CO2Na)−]n and has broad applications in consumer products. This super-absorbent polymer (SAP) has the ability to absorb 100 to 1000 times its mass in water. Sodium polyacrylate is an anionic polyelectrolyte with negatively charged carboxylic groups in the main chain. It is a polymer made up of chains of acrylate compounds. It contains sodium, which gives it the ability to absorb large amounts of water. When dissolved in water, it forms a thick and transparent solution due to the ionic interactions of the molecules. Sodium polyacrylate has many favorable mechanical properties. Some of these advantages include good mechanical stability, high heat resistance, and strong hydration. It has been used as an additive for food products including bread, juice, and ice cream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miuccia Prada</span> Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur

Miuccia Bianchi Prada is an Italian billionaire fashion designer and businesswoman. She is the head designer of Prada and the founder of its subsidiary Miu Miu. As of October 2021, Forbes estimated her net worth at US$4.8 billion. In August 2021, Bloomberg estimated her net worth to be $6.6 billion, ranking 430th in the world.

<i>The Devil Wears Prada</i> (film) 2006 film by David Frankel

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel and produced by Wendy Finerman. The screenplay, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, is based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger. The film stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasha Pivovarova</span> Russian supermodel

Aleksandra ''Sasha'' Igorevna Pivovarova is a Russian supermodel and artist. She is best known as the longest appearing fashion model for Prada, posed for 19 advertisement campaigns, a record Pivovarova has set for the brand. Pivovarova has appeared on the cover of Vogue 62 times. She was part of the original "Wide eyed doll era" in the late 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodegradable plastic</span> Plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms

Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually microbes, into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. Biodegradable plastics are commonly produced with renewable raw materials, micro-organisms, petrochemicals, or combinations of all three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chanel Iman</span> American model

Chanel Iman Robinson is an American model who has worked as a Victoria's Secret Angel. Vogue Paris declared her as one of the top 30 models of the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behati Prinsloo</span> Namibian model (born 1988)

Behati Prinsloo is a Namibian model. In 2008, she became a Pink contract model, and moved on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. She walked in ten Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, and opened consecutive Victoria's Secret Fashion shows in 2014 and 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zendaya</span> American actress and singer (born 1996)

Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman is an American actress and singer. Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Science Fair</span> International science fair

The Google Science Fair was a worldwide online science competition sponsored by Google, Lego, Virgin Galactic, National Geographic and Scientific American. It was an annual event spanning the years 2011 through 2018.

AMSilk is an industrial supplier of synthetic silk biopolymers. The polymers are biocompatible and breathable. The company was founded in 2008 and has its headquarters at Campus Neuried in Munich. AMSilk is an industrial biotechnology company with a proprietary production process for their silk materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiara Advani</span> Indian actress (born 1991)

Alia Advani, known professionally as Kiara Advani, is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu language films. After making her acting debut in the comedy film Fugly (2014), she played MS Dhoni's wife in the sports biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016). She gained appreciation for playing a sexually unsatisfied wife in the Netflix anthology film Lust Stories (2018) and played the leading lady in the political thriller Bharat Ane Nenu (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anok Yai</span> African fashion model

Anok Yai is an American fashion model. She is the first model of South Sudanese descent and the second black supermodel after Naomi Campbell to open a Prada show. She has made several appearances on i-D and international Vogue covers, including American Vogue three times. Models.com ranks her as one of the "New Supers" of this generation, and since 2023, she was chosen by both the industry and fans as "Model of the Year" and USA Top Model 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Schafer</span> American actress and model (born 1998)

Hunter Schafer is an American actress and model. She first made headlines in 2016 with her activism against the North Carolina bill HB2. In 2017, she started modeling for many worldwide fashion brands. She made her acting debut as transgender high school student Jules Vaughn in the HBO teen drama television series Euphoria (2019–present). Since then, she has had roles in Belle (2022), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), Cuckoo (2024), and Kinds of Kindness (2024).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Harth</span> Polymer researcher and chemistry PhD

Eva M. Harth FRSC is a German-American polymer scientist and researcher, and a fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society. She is a full professor at the University of Houston and director of the Welch Center for Excellence in Polymer Chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Kianni</span> Iranian-American social entrepreneur and activist (born 2001)

Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American social entrepreneur and climate activist. She is the founder and president of Climate Cardinals, a nonprofit offering climate change information in multiple languages, serves on the EPA's National Youth Advisory Council, and as an advisor to the United Nations. She is the youngest United Nations advisor in US history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valery Kaufman</span> Russian model (born 1994)

Valery Kaufman is a Russian model best known for walking in Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2015 and Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Teen Wins Big for a Homemade weonXD". Scientific American. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "16-year-old South African invents wonder material to fight drought". CNN. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "South African teen wins Google prize for orange peel innovation". BBC. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016". Time. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "South African teen wins Google prize for orange peel innovation". BBC News. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Kiara Nirghin South Africa REGIONAL FINALIST, AFRICA". Young Champions of the Earth. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Kiara Nirghin Named Room to Read Global Ambassador and Launches Fundraising Campaign for Girls' Education". roomtoread.org. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "16-year-old South African invents wonder material to fight drought". CNN. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. ↑ Caruso, Catherine (1 December 2016). "Teen Wins Big for a Homemade Polymer". Scientific American. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "KIARA NIRGHIN SOUTH AFRICA, 18". Three Dot Dash. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Biz Journals". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate". 2020 Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Gen Z world-changers: Kiara Nirghin in conversation with Zaya Wade". Hero. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "See Cher, Karol G, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Zendaya and more at Paris Fashion Week 2023". USA TODAY. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "WHY THIS 22-YEAR-OLD INVENTOR SAYS CREATIVITY IS AT THE HEART OF HER WORK".
  16. ↑ "PRADA GROUP RECEIVES THE OCEANS AWARD FOR SEA BEYOND AT CNMI SUSTAINABLE FASHION AWARDS 2022".
  17. ↑ "How Gen Z's AI Fluency Can Help Companies Succeed". Time. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Fast Company Why are women being sidelined in the ai race".
  19. ↑ "Kiara Nirghin on the gender divide in science, technology, engineering and mathematics". The Economist. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
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