Teenage techie

Lots of 14-year-olds spend their free time playing video games. But Rocket Burns has been there, done that, already having built from scratch a full-sized, arcade-style system to play 1980s classics like Pac-Man and Galaga.

The Venice-based electronics enthusiast also built his own 3-D printer, a multiyear project he calls his “crowning joy.” That experience and his passion for 3-D printing has led him to his next endeavor: a company called Rocket3D that's working to produce a 3-D printer kit that costs less than $100.

“I've always been fascinated with how systems fit together and how everything plays nicely with each other,” says Burns. (And yes, Rocket is his real name.)