For ages, humans have attempted to absorb and direct the immense natural energy released by the sun for a number of purposes. This celestial body provides around 1,000 watts per metre squared at sea level, according to a widely acknowledged norm; the trick is in harnessing and targeting it in the proper location for it to be able to complete specified activities.

Maria Telkes made a profession out of it, developing one of the first successful sun ovens, solar heating systems, and a solar water distillation technology for making seawater drinkable. She was born on December 12, 1900, in Budapest, Hungary, and got interested in solar energy while still in high school.

MIT archives tells us that Telkes went to the United States in 1925 to serve as a biophysicist for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, earning the nickname "Sun Queen." She did studies on life-transformative energy there.

While at MIT, she constructed a solar heating system for the Dover House, an experimental home built in 1948 by architect Eleanor Raymond and supported by Amelia Peabody to demonstrate the power of solar energy. Telkes' method captured and stored solar energy, which was then dispersed as needed by fans. Her storage method was based on chemistry; she devised a method for storing solar energy chemically through the crystallisation of a sodium sulphate solution.