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"   Nate Ball Boston, Mass. Age: 28 Years on Job: 6     Nate Ball spent his childhood tinkering in the backyard. &amp;quot;I grew up without TV, so I spent all my time being creative and making stuff,&amp;quot; he says. That came in handy when he entered the 2005 Soldier Design Competition as a mechanical engineering student at MIT. The team&amp;#039;s challenge: Create a device that would allow a person to scale a structure quickly. Today, their invention\u2014the Atlas Power Ascender\u2014is used by the military and government agencies to climb mountains, buildings and ships around the world. Ball is passionate about encouraging children to pursue an interest in science and engineering\u2014and the ascender helps him do that. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a huge kick to see their faces when you pull the trigger and jump off the ground for the first time,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;They see that engineering can be cool.&amp;quot;  The Atlas Power Ascender How It Works The ascender\u2014first covered by Popular Mechanics in September 2010\u2014handles rope similarly to a capstan, which raises and lowers anchors: Its grip tightens as more weight is added. After the operator wraps a loop around the machine&amp;#039;s rope-grabbing spindle, he clips his harness to the ascender, engaging the rope with the battery-powered mechanism. As the spindle turns, the ascender climbs. The rope is typically pre-secured in place above the operator. But the device can also be equipped with a grappling hook and shot from the ground to an anchor for use in extreme situations. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s very much like Batman,&amp;quot; Ball says. What It Can Do The latest version of the ascender (APA-5) weighs 15 pounds and can lift 500 pounds up to 700 feet on a single battery charge and hoist a person up a five-story building in 10 seconds. Special models can rocket at 10 feet per second. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a huge thrill,&amp;quot; Ball says, &amp;quot;but you have to be focused and ready to avoid obstacles at that speed.&amp;quot; Applications The power-tool-size device allows people to scale cliffs, buildings and oil rigs; explore caves; inspect shipping containers; and perform rescue operations. Next up for the APA: helicopter rescue. &amp;quot;With the ascender, any helicopter could be used for rescue, even a news chopper,&amp;quot; Ball says. In a recent test, his ascender hoisted a team of Marines into a CH-46 helicopter hovering 100 feet above the ground.      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a11813/the-engineer-behind-the-atlas-power-ascender-this-is-my-job/>