Max is the winner of the Design Squad Trash to Treasure competition, sponsored by Intel. His invention redefines a makeshift dwelling, which he calls “The Home Dome.” Max recalls: “When I was six, I won an invention contest that included a trip to Chicago. While there, I saw homeless people living on streets, and beneath highways and underpasses. I felt very sorry for these people, and ever since then, felt that my goal and obligation was to find a way to help them. My invention improves the living conditions for homeless people, refugees, or disaster victims by giving them easy-to-assemble shelter."

Entirely made of Styrofoam peanuts stuffed into discarded plastic bags, “The Home Dome” is a round dome in the shape of a Mongolian yurt. It includes a built-in bed that anchors the dwelling down by the weight of the person inside. It helps the environment by using one of the most bulky and difficult-to-dispose types of trash that our society produces and transforms it into homes.