A futuristic gadget developed by a California teen could revolutionize cell phone technology, charging a phone in as little as 20 to 30 seconds.

The tiny gizmo won 18-year-old Eesha Khare a major science award that will help fund her ambitious college education at the prestigious Harvard University. Khare participated in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) last week where she dazzled judges with her invention. Khare was one of two winners of Young Scientist Awards.

"I'm in a daze," Khare told CNN affiliate KPIX 5. "I can't believe this happened."

According to the young inventor, the black, rectangular device that measures just over an inch in length can charge a cell phone battery in as little as 20 to 30 seconds. It's a type of supercapacitor that may revolutionize cell phone technology.

"I developed a new supercapacitor, which is basically an energy storage device which can hold a lot of energy in a small amount of volume," Khare further told KPIX 5. If this is not impressive enough, the technology may also be able to speed up charging car batteries.

The award Khare won includes a $50,000 in scholarship funds that will prove very useful when she heads to Harvard in the fall, she told the publication.

In announcing the winners for the "world's largest high school research competition," as Intel bills it, the tech giant praised Khare for addressing "the crucial need for energy-efficient storage devices" as the world is rapidly shifting to portable gadgets.

As previously mentioned, Khare was one of two winners of Young Scientist Awards. The other winner was Henry Wanjune Lin of Shreveport, Louisiana, who won the $50,000 prize for "simulating thousands of clusters of galaxies" that will enable scientists to "better understand the mysteries of astrophysics: dark matter, dark energy and the balance of heating and cooling in the universe's most massive objects," reads Intel's statement.

The top prize at the Intel ISEF 2013, meanwhile, went to 19-year-old Ionut Budisteanu from Romania, who used "artificial intelligence to create a viable model for a low-cost, self-driving car." Budisteanu won the Gordon E. Moore Award that comes with a $75,000 prize.

According to Intel, more than 1,500 young scientists came from all parts of the world to compete in the ISEF 2013 fair, demonstrating some amazing inventions. What were you doing in high school?