About this item

How an American teenager became the youngest person ever to build a working nuclear fusion reactor By the age of nine, Taylor Wilson had mastered the science of rocket propulsion. At eleven, his grandmother's cancer diagnosis drove him to investigate new ways to produce medical isotopes. And by fourteen, Wilson had built a 500-million-degree reactor and become the youngest person in history to achieve nuclear fusion. How could someone so young achieve so much, and what can Wilson's story teach parents and teachers about how to support high-achieving kids? In The Boy Who Played with Fusion, science journalist Tom Clynes narrates Taylor Wilson's extraordinary journey - from his Arkansas home where his parents fully supported his intellectual passions, to a unique Reno, Nevada, public high school just for academic superstars, to the present, when now nineteen-year-old Wilson is winning international science competitions with devices designed to prevent terrorists from shipping radioactive material into the country.



About the Author

Tom Clynes

Author and photojournalist Tom Clynes travels the world covering the adventurous side of science, the environment, education and extraordinary personalities for magazines such as National Geographic and Popular Science, where he is a contributing editor. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Nature, New York, The Sunday Times Magazine (London) , the Washington Post, and many other publications. He is the author of the books "The Boy Who Played With Fusion" and "Wild Planet!" and his magazine stories often appear in Houghton-Mifflin's "Best American..." series of magazine-writing anthologies.

As a professional speaker, Tom brings audiences along on assignment to the ends of the earth, with visually stunning keynote programs that combine extraordinary stories and photos. Tom works with organizations that want to catalyze creativity, stimulate action and enthusiasm, and challenge constituents to open up their thinking.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.