Northeast High School InvenTeam Receives U.S. Patent

Congratulations to Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) Northeast High School's 2018 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam on receiving a U.S. Patent Office Patent Number for their invention of a mosquito breeding disruptor – a device to deter mosquitoes from laying eggs in standing water. The 2018 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam, led by their InvenTeam instructor Lise Clara Mabour, has been awarded a patent for their invention. A patent issuance for the Mosquito Agitator will take place on Thursday, January 21, 2021, at 8:15 a.m., at Northeast High School. 

The team of 14 Northeast High students were members of the school’s 2018 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam awarded a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam $10,000 grant to create a mosquito breeding disruptor. InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers and mentors who receive grants of up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. The initiative of the Lemelson-MIT Program aims to inspire a new generation of inventors.

Eight years ago, while a student at her alma mater Northeast High, instructor Mabour was a member of the school’s first inventor team to be awarded a $10,000 InvenTeam grant. Mabour was project manager of the team that created a portable water sanitation system that could be used after natural disasters. Two members of that winning InvenTeam team were invited to attend the 2013 White House Science Fair, where they persuaded President Obama to ride the bicycle that powered their water filtration system.

“This a proud moment for Broward County Public Schools and for Northeast High School,” said BCPS Superintendent Robert W. Runcie. “Congratulations to this outstanding team for your extraordinary achievement. You represent the future.”

“I am incredibly proud of Clara Mabour and her students for receiving a U.S. patent for their InvenTeam project,” said Lemelson-MIT Program Invention Education Officer Leigh Estabrooks. “They are inspiring role models for young inventors who are passionate about making a difference through invention.”

Watch the team on WSVN