ASU’s worldwide educational resource device named among Time’s best inventions of 2025

PHOENIX – Arizona State University’s SolarSPELL (Solar Powered Educational Learning Library) initiative works to bring solar-powered literary devices to rural communities around the world to increase education access.

The device was created by ASU professors and students and uses a Wi-Fi hotspot to provide thousands of educational resources to communities in Africa, the Pacific Islands and the Middle East.

Professor Heather Ross, who has worked with the SolarSPELL initiative in Arizona and Africa, told KTAR News 92.3 FM the device has provided doctors with the information they need to treat patients, students with the resources to learn and farmers with the databases to produce crops.

“Student nurses are taking SolarSPELL libraries out with them to the field,” Ross said. “They used to check out a couple of old textbooks from their university library and hope for the best, but now they’re taking a medical library with over 19,000 items in it — including instructional videos, textbooks, a medical encyclopedia — and using that information to help them do their clinical rotations out in the field.”

Time magazine recently named SolarSPELL one of the best inventions of the year in the social impact category.

Why was the ASU educational device named a best invention?

Its library collection includes information on agriculture, education and health. The device translates the information into the students’ native language, including in videos, medical indexes and agricultural resources.

Ross explained that a majority of the world’s internet accessibility is low, and the SolarSPELL provides the necessary support for communities to thrive regardless.

“We take it for granted that information is two clicks away,” Ross said. “And yes, that is the case for so many of us in urban regions… but that’s not the case for the majority of the world.”

SolarSPELL was first started in 2015 and has since grown to help students and professionals in Rwanda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Northeast Syria, Fiji, the Marshall Islands and more.

The initiative works with the U.S. Peace Corps to spread the information through schools, medical clinics and towns.

It also helps communities in the Hopi Tribe in Arizona with healthcare research, providing resources to the HOPI Cancer Support Services (HCSS).

In addition, the device provides a Crisis Response Library to the Phoenix Fire Department, sharing essential information that could help first responders in an emergency.

Ross said the goal is to elevate the world one community at a time, which is why the Time’s recognition meant so much to the team.

“We want to reach individuals, but we know that individuals make up societies,” Ross said. “And we know that if we can empower individuals with information… that those individuals are in in turn going to lift up and empower their societies. And if we can do that around the world, well, then the entire world benefits.”

ASU students work with the program every semester, working to expand SolarSPELL to help more communities.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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