With so many businesses focusing on making life easier, very few focus on making life better. Alice Chun is changing that. As the founder and CEO of Solight Design, Chun has created more than just a product—she’s built a movement centered around sustainability, community, and compassionate problem-solving. At the heart of it all is a simple but powerful idea: light can change lives.
Solight Design’s flagship innovation, the SolarPuff, is a lightweight, origami-inspired solar lantern that inflates without pumps or batteries and folds flat when not in use. Designed with functionality, beauty, and humanitarian purpose in mind, the SolarPuff has illuminated communities around the globe—from disaster relief zones in Haiti to refugee camps in Syria. Its mission is as practical as it is profound: provide clean, sustainable light to people in need, while reducing reliance on toxic kerosene and other polluting energy sources.
Alice’s path to innovation began not in a lab, but in her home—as a mother. Raising a son with asthma made her acutely aware of the impact of indoor air pollution, especially in under-resourced communities. This personal challenge inspired her to create a solution that not only helps families like hers, but also addresses global environmental concerns.
A professor of architecture and design who has taught at Columbia, Yale, and MIT, Chun combines academic rigor with real-world application. Her career as an educator is deeply connected to her work with Solight—both are rooted in the belief that thoughtful design can drive meaningful change. In 2016, she shared this message in her TEDx talk, 10 Million Rays of Light, where she discussed the profound impact of accessible, clean light on quality of life and community development.
Chun’s entrepreneurial journey is also a powerful example of how innovation and social impact can go hand in hand. Through Solight, she’s built a brand that doesn’t just sell a product—it delivers hope, independence, and opportunity. Each solar lantern distributed represents one more child who can study after dark, one more family who can cook without smoke, one more step toward a healthier, more equitable world.
Today, Alice Chun continues to advocate for sustainable solutions, speaking at conferences and institutions to inspire the next generation of changemakers. Whether she’s designing a product, mentoring students, or addressing a crowd, her message is consistent and clear: when we combine creativity with compassion, we can solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.