Keiana Cavé facts for kids

Keiana Ashli Cavé is an American scientist and entrepreneur, which means she starts businesses based on new ideas. Even as a teenager, she was making important scientific discoveries. In 2016, the energy company Chevron gave her $1.2 million to support her research. A year later, Chevron bought her company.

Early Life and First Inventions

Keiana Cavé grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and went to Lusher Charter High School. She was interested in many things, including ballet and track, but she decided to focus on science. She became very interested in nanotechnology, which is science and engineering done on a super tiny scale.

An engineering program called Project Lead the Way helped spark her passion for science. She later became a national ambassador for the program. In 2014, when she was still in high school, she won $10,000 in a competition hosted by NFL quarterback Drew Brees. The competition was called the "Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge."

Studying the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

In 2015, Cavé won a major award for her research on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This was a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that harmed the environment. Her project won second place in the Earth & Environmental Sciences category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a famous science competition for students.

Because of her amazing work, NASA and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory named a minor planet after her. The planet is now called (31587) Cavé.

How Her Research Helped

Cavé started her research at the University of New Orleans when she was only 15. Her project found a way to spot tiny, harmful particles, called nanotoxins, that form in the ocean after an oil spill. These toxins are created when sunlight breaks down the spilled oil.

Her method gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a new tool to track pollution from oil spills. Her work was so important that it led to more research at Tulane University. She also traveled to Panama to do research with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Career as a Scientist and Entrepreneur

Cavé later studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. She is a member of special groups for young business leaders, like the Entrepreneurs Leadership Program and The Kairos Society.

She has also shared her ideas with the world by giving talks at TEDx events in Barcelona in 2017 and at her university in 2018.

Mare: A Company to Clean Up Oil Spills

In 2016, Cavé attended a program at the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she developed a special molecule that could help clean up oil spills more effectively.

This idea led her to create her first company, Mare. She raised $1.2 million from Chevron to continue her research. In late 2017, her company was bought, and she was recognized on Entrepreneur Magazine's "Young Millionaires List" in 2018.

Her success brought her many awards. In 2017, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and Magic Johnson's "32 Under 32" list. In 2018, Glamour Magazine named her one of its "College Women of the Year."

Sublima: A New Pharmaceutical Company

In 2019, Cavé founded another company called Sublima Pharmaceuticals. The company is working to develop a new kind of non-hormonal medicine for women's health. She was inspired to start the company after experiencing side effects from a medication she was taking.

Sublima is still in the early stages of development. The medicine is currently in an advanced stage of testing, known as Phase Three of clinical trials.

Promoting Diversity in Science

Cavé has been featured in many campaigns that encourage people from all backgrounds to get involved in science and technology. She has worked with MTV, ABC's Good Morning America, and SXSW. She has been recognized for her work in promoting diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Published Works

• A Method for Identifying the Photoproducts, Mechanisms, and Toxicity of Petroleum from the Deepwater Horizon by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, DNPHi Derivatization, and Solar Simulation