Girl Scouts Build Page-Turning Device out of Legos for Readers with Arthritis (Emily Bergenroth, Alicia Cutter, Karissa Cheng, Addy Oneal, and Emery Dodson, all age 6, Tulsa, OK). After chatting with their school librarian, the “Supergirls” Junior FIRST Lego League Team from Daisy Girl Scouts’ troop 411 discovered that some people have disabilities that make it difficult to turn the pages of a book. They came up with the concept of a battery-powered page turner that could turn pages for people who are paralyzed or have arthritis. The Supergirls sketched out a design concept and culled through motorized Lego components and gears to figure out how to build a working prototype. They discovered that the friction from rubber Lego tires could be used to lift and turn the pages of a book. They honed the device with a second motorized component that forces pages to lay flat after being turned over. The Supergirls' creation was selected by the statewide FIRST program director to be the only project exhibited at an educational conference for librarians and educators in the region.
President Barack Obama hugs Emily Bergenroth, Alicia Cutter, Karissa Cheng, Addy O’Neal, and Emery Dodson, all six-year-old Girl Scouts, from Tulsa, Oklahoma after viewing their science exhibit. The girls used Lego pieces and designed a battery-powered page turner to help people who are paralyzed or have arthritis. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
With Novel Battery, Pittsburgh Teen Turns Pollution into Power (Sahil Doshi, 14, Pittsburgh, PA). Inspired by the global energy crisis and the lack of electricity around the world, Pittsburgh ninth-grader Sahil Doshi designed an innovative carbon-dioxide powered battery called PolluCell. Comprised of multiple electrochemical cells wired in parallel circuits, PolluCell harnesses the power of carbon dioxide and waste materials to generate electricity, reducing the environmental effects of pollution. The battery earned him $25,000 and the title of America’s Top Young Scientist at the 2014 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Sahil’s invention has been featured in national press outlets on TV, in print, and online.
Quad-Lingual Kid-Team Creates Sustainable City of the Future (Jose Valdez III, 12, Casandra D. Dauz, 11, Jaleena Rolon, 11, Española, NM). Jose Valdez, Casandra Dauz, and Jaleena Rolon are a team of elementary school students who competed in last year's Future City Regional Competition, which challenges students to tackle infrastructure and natural resource challenges by designing cities of the future. The team created the City of Crystal Water, where agricultural fish pens separate industrial, commercial, and residential zones and vehicles travel along dams equipped with paddles that produce hydro energy. Recognizing the importance of connecting their idea with their rural, desert community's cultural diversity, the team incorporated four languages into their City presentation: Spanish, English, American Sign Language, and Tewa, a Tanoan language spoken by Pueblo Native Americans. The team earned recognition for Most Unique Architectural Model at the New Mexico Regional Future City Competition.
Middle-Schooler’s Device Measures Strength of Sewn Stitches (Holly Jackson, 14, San Jose, CA). Californian Holly Jackson investigated the ancient art of sewing from a unique, architectural point of view. After learning to sew in the 4th grade from her grandmother, Holly's scientific curiosity led her to explore the relative strength and compatibility of threads and fabrics, important information to better understand innovative sewn materials for the 21st century. She engineered a device to measure the capacity and strength of stitched fabric, and designed experiments and procedures to yield precise measurements. Her research has potential applications in the design of high-performance protective gear, hazmat and space suits, parachutes, and more. Her work won the top award of $25,000 at the 2014 Broadcom MASTERS competition.
Teen Finds Keystrokes May be Key to Password Authentication (Nikhil Behari, 14, Sewickley, PA). After hearing about major data breaches at retail chains, Pennsylvania teen Nikhil Behari got inspired to create a security system that is easy to use, versatile, and effective in protecting online data. Nikhil wondered if the manner in which people type could be used as a means of secondary authentication for safer passwords. He connected sensors to a microprocessor he had programmed to detect keystroke pressure, and used a separate program to measure action and pause time as users type. By analyzing data from these devices, Nikhil discovered that keystroke-based authentication is a potentially powerful technique for distinguishing and authenticating individuals. Nikhil won a second place award in Technology at the 2014 Broadcom MASTERS national finals.
Overcoming Setbacks, St. Louis Teen heads to Silicon Valley to Pitch Businesses Idea (Joschula Page, 16, St. Louis, MO). Joschula Page designed a business plan around a bracelet that wirelessly charges the battery of a cell phone, called UNPLUGGED. Her idea was born when she needed to plug her dying cell phone into a wall all the way across the room from her desk. She asked herself "what if I could charge my phone from exactly where I’m sitting?" The plan earned her the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge last October. In addition to her innovative idea, Joschula overcame setbacks in order to compete in California. Her house was broken into one week before the competition and the computer containing her business plan presentation was stolen, making preparations extremely difficult. With support from her community and mentors, she made it to Silicon Valley and competed as a semi-finalist, learning about other youth businesses and networking with employees of large tech companies along the way.
Inspired by Relatives in Ethiopia, Teens Builds Novel Water Purification System (Bluyé DeMessie, 18, Cincinnati, OH). During the summer before ninth grade, Bluyé DeMessie, 18, visited his relatives in Northern Ethiopia and was shocked by the lack of clean water. Over the last four years, Bluyé developed a novel method to convert agricultural waste into a bio-charcoal that is capable of removing pollutants from water within a short contact time. Bluyé’s potentially game-changing work earned him grand prizes at the 2013 and 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fairs and 2014 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology. Bluyé has presented his research at national and international conferences including the 246th and 248th American Chemical Society National Meetings. Bluyé wants to create an efficient and high-capacity water filtration system that can be maintained by villagers in remote areas of third world nations. He plans to study chemistry as a freshman at Harvard University in the fall.
5th Grader Designs Stable Drinking Cup for Patients with Parkinson’s (Lily Born, 11, Chicago, IL). Eleven year old Lily Born saw her grandfather, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, struggle to use a regular cup, spilling his drink in the process. Inspired to find a solution, Lily used moldable plastic to develop a prototype that was more stable and comfortable to use. The Kangaroo Cup can be used by individuals who suffer from muscular control issues, as well as young children. With the help of her father, she launched a crowdsourcing campaign and eventually raised enough funds to help bring the Kangaroo Cup to market. She launched product directly to the market on the crowdfunding sites Indiegogo and Kickstarter, where she successfully pre-sold over 10,000 cups. She was chosen as a member of the Independent Youth Teen Network, Selected as Business Insider's Top 11 year old in Tech, and was honored as a Young Wonder in CNN's Heroes Tribute. She is the youngest member of the Catalyze Chicago's Hardware Incubator.
Team from the US Virgin Islands Launch into STEM with Rockets (Stephanie Bullock, 16; Shimeeka Stanley, 15; Gabriel St. Kitts, 13; Maria Heywood, 13; Amari DeSouza, 12, U.S. Virgin Islands). Under-represented minorities make up only 9.5% of American STEM workers. Determined to demonstrate that hard work and dedication can trump statistics, Elena L. Christian Jr. High School in the US Virgin Islands inspires students to pursue higher education and careers in STEM through the Team America Rocketry Challenge. Their commitment has paid off, with teams qualifying and competing in the national finals four out of the last five years. Team Caribbean Splash was also selected to submit a scientific proposal to participate in the Small Satellites for Secondary Students (S4) Payload Contest. Their proposal was one of only five that was accepted. The team will be contending in the competition in Nevada this June.
New Mexico High Schooler Morphs Algae into Bio-Fuel (Sophia Sánchez-Maes, 16 Las Cruces, NM). When Sophia Sánchez-Maes learned that algae has the potential to yield 5000 gallons of biodiesel annually per acre, she wondered how best to harness that promise. She computationally modeled algae growth in order to optimize that phase of the biofuel-production process. Then she began work as a National Science Foundation Young Scholar, investigating how to convert a particular extremophile algae from Yellowstone into biofuel, with promising results. She found her algae holds the potential to fuel an energy positive wastewater treatment system, and also demonstrated lower cost conversion of the algae to fuel compared to traditional methods. Her work earned her a place at the Supercomputing expo in Los Alamos.
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