National Spotlight Shines on an Amazing Child

Jacob Komar, 12, a remarkable student at the University High School of Science and Engineering, is scheduled to be featured on “CBS Sunday Morning” on March 6 at 9 a.m.

The story will focus on Jan and Bob Davidson’s work with highly gifted children like Jacob. The couple formed the Davidson Institute for Talent Development in Reno, Nev., in 1999 to recognize and support profoundly intelligent young people.

At two years old, Jacob was typing computer commands on a laptop; at five he became bored with ABCs and studied at the Talcott Mountain Academy in Avon; and at nine he started taking college-level classes at Tunxis Community College. After breezing through those courses, he learned about the University High School of Science and Engineering, which opened last fall on the university's Asylum Avenue campus.

When Jacob was nine years old, he founded a program called “Computers for Communities,” through which he has rebuilt hundreds of discarded computers and distributed them to people and organizations in need.

Last December, Jacob and his mother spent 10 days in California to participate in a computer-building project sponsored by graphics card manufacturer nVIDIA. The company got other large Silicon Valley companies to sponsor Jacob's “Computers for Communities” initiative, and Jacob ended up building and donating 400 computers to nonprofit organizations for the holidays.

Jacob's focus now is to help others start local “Computers for Communities” in their towns. He has created a training manual and support materials to help groups get started and is working with groups in Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

Visit Jacob's "Computers for Communities" website.

As a result of his work, Jacob has received numerous humanitarian awards and has been featured on CNN and in People, Teen, Highlights for Children, Time for Kids, Junior Scholastic, Women’s World, and Hartford magazines, as well as in the Hartford Courant.