Ahmed Mohamed chatted with President Obama Monday night at a White House event days after meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Fox News reported that the two exchanged words as Obama moved through the crowd of 300 guests at the White House’s Astronomy Night, some individuals snapping pictures of the interaction. Mohamed, 14, gained nationwide recognition as "clock boy" when he was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school that was mistaken for a bomb.
"We talked about Mars and 2030 and I talked to him about the generator that I’m making and how it could help people on Mars," Mohamed told CBS News of his conversation with Obama. The event was attended by emerging scientists, teachers, and astronauts, including NASA astronaut Alvin Drew.
In September, the president expressed his support for the ninth grader after the clock incident, inviting him to the White House.
"Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great," Obama wrote on Twitter.
The high school student was arrested after bringing a digital clock he constructed himself to his Texas high school. Teachers thought the device was a bomb. Mohamed described the incident as a learning experience.
"I learned that people would always be there to support you when there's injustice," Mohamed said Monday. "There’s a ton that I learned. ... I’m trying to get a message of how you shouldn’t judge a person by what they look like. You should always judge a person by their heart."
He said he made the clock with the goal of impressing his engineering teacher "but instead, I impressed the world."
Mohamed’s conversation with Obama came just days after he met the Sudanese president, an accused war criminal, last Wednesday. The 14-year-old’s father is a Sudanese immigrant to the United States.