President Barack Obama gets down on his hands and knees as he looks at the inner workings of a robot that plays soccer, built by a team from Blue Bell, Pa., as he tours science projects on display in the State Dining Room of the White House. October 18, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Texas Teen Takes Natural Approach to Cancer Treatment (Nia Clements, 15; San Antonio, TX) After unexpectedly losing her grandfather to gastric cancer, high school sophomore Nia Clements, 15, of San Antonio, TX, decided to learn more about the disease and discovered an unlikely treatment in Santalum album (sandalwood) tree oil (EISO). Over the past few years, as part of her Junior Science and Humanities Symposium project, Nia examined the impact of the oil on AGS, a gastric cell line, and worked on an encapsulation for the oil and determining whether it would be degraded in stomach acid. This year, Nia studied the effects of EISO on the transmembrane ion channels of the gastric cancer cells to figure out the method by which the oil is killing and and/or inhibiting the gastric cancer cells.
Trip to Solar Sprint Nationals is the First Flight for All-Girl Maryland Team (Kylah Cain-Ward, 13; Destani Cularri, 11; Adriana Pusey, 13; Jordan West, 12; Edgewood, MD) The first-place team in the Maryland Army Education Outreach Program (AEOP) Junior Solar Sprint competition couldn’t believe they had won or that they would be taking their first flight to the National Competition in Grapevine, Texas. The team from Windsor Valley Boys & Girls club in Harford County, Maryland, comprised of Kylah Cain-Ward, 13, Destani Cularri, 11, Adriana Pusey, 13, and Jordan West, 12, of Edgewood, MD designed, built and raced a solar-powered vehicle. The team was so focused on testing designs, data collection, gear ratios, and time trials that they hadn’t even thought about the winning the competition, but that’s exactly what they did in the state-wide solar car race.
Young Inventor Designs 3-D Printed Solution to Pesky Problem(Shemar Coombs, 19; Philadelphia, PA) Bothered by an everyday annoyance—tangled headphone cords—Shemar Coombs, 19, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, used computer-aided design (CAD) software and a 3D printer to invent a cellphone case with a specially-designed channel along its edge that allows headphones to be easily wrapped and secured, while remaining tangle-free. The teenage entrepreneur took the invention all the way to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship National Challenge. Passionate about both business and music, Shemar plans to donate a portion of the profits from his budding business to music programs in developing countries.
Young Coders Design App to Help Cancer Patients (Lydia Mindermann, 13; Andrea Richard Kasson, 14; Kasson, MN) Inspired by some of the 1.5 million Mayo Clinic patients around the world, three girls, represented by Lydia Mindermann, 13, and Andrea Richard Kasson, 14, of Kason, Minnesota, developed an international award-winning app to help patients. The girls observed that patients had high levels of stress and anxiety, sometimes felt lonely and scared or lost among the hospital buildings, and were unaware of what was available to do during their free time between appointments and treatments. The team’s “Mayo Free Time” app, which beat out 400 apps from 28 different countries to win the Technovation Challenge, displays activities happening at the Mayo Clinic that patients can participate in, a map of the Mayo campus along with the city of Rochester, and a chat and help screen. While helping patients of Mayo Clinic, the girls learned computer science and entrepreneurship and heard from technology leaders, including women role models, during the international finals of the Technovation Challenge.
The Flyest Sophomore Around (Talie Cloud, 16; Sanger, CA)
Talie Cloud, a sophomore from Sanger, California, conducted a project to see whether Momordica charantia (bitter melon seed) could be used as an organic insecticide for managing populations of fruit flies and other agricultural pests. After examining the effects of bitter melon seed on the reproductive rate of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) after four generations of exposure, Talie concluded that, since the bitter melon concentration within theDrosophila medium increased and the reproductive rate after four generations significantly decreased when compared to the control,Momordica charantia could be a cost-efficient and effective agricultural insecticide that acts upon the reproduction of the pest. For her findings, Talie was named a National Winner at the FFA Agriscience Fair.
Microwave Goodbye to Energy Loss (Annie Ostojic, 13; Munster, IN) Annie Ostojic, 13, of Munster, Indiana, was the winner of the 2015 Broadcom MASTERS competition. In 2014, Annie designed a microwave container to cook food more thoroughly with less energy. In testing her design, however, Annie noticed a significant loss of energy around the corners of the microwave. She determined that the best method to improve this technology would require redesigning the microwave cavity itself to refocus lost corner energy onto turntable food. In 2015, Annie tackled this problem by measuring various microwaves to identify energy wasting hotspots, testing seven types of reflector materials, and applying what she learned to design three aluminum-foil reflectors for a more efficient microwave design. Annie, who has applied for a patent for her new microwave design, is an 8th-grade student at the Wilbur Wright Middle School, and also takes classes at Munster High School, where she convinced the local principal to let her take high-school computer-science courses with her older peers.
The Unbotable Robotics Team (Jacob Bosarge, 17; Nolan Lenard, 16; Rupa Palanki, 17; Mobile, AL) In 2004, as a struggling Mobile County, Alabama, school trying to find its identity in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) world, the W.P. Davidson faculty and students decided to take a leap of faith and participate in the BEST Robotics program. The team had no tools to manufacture a robot, no space to work, and no classes devoted to engineering, and the newly formed robotics team went to the community for donations. In a relatively short period of time, their hard work, success and motivation lead to the creation of the EPIC Program (Engineering Pathways Integrated Curriculum) for their school. Now, in 2016, W.P. Davidson High School is home to the largest K-12 engineering program in the state of Alabama, all students have access to 3D printers, CNC machines, and advanced simulation software and the faculty and students mentor schools throughout the Gulf Coast region and the Black Belt of Alabama, encouraging more students to become excited about science and engineering. W.P. Davidson High School, represented by Jacob Bosarge, 17, Nolan Lenard, 16, and Rupa Palanki, 17, has become one of the best of the BEST in Alabama, winning 1st Place Overall BEST Award in the Jubilee BEST Robotics Competition and 2nd Place Overall BEST Award in the South’s BEST Regional Championship—making W.P. Davidson’s team the highest-ranking team in Alabama.
The Rainbow App that Helps Dyslexic Students (Devon Langley 14; Trevor Langley, 11; Haute, IN) Devon, 14, and Trevor, 11, Langley representing a team from Haute, Indiana, harnessed the power of the rainbow to help dyslexic students learn mathematics. This innovative young team developed the ROY G. BIV Math System, an app designed to improve the way children challenged with dyslexia learn new math concepts. A color-coded system keeps digits in place when children do any kind of math operation. The system uses the rainbow color order so children will recognize if they unintentionally move digits because the familiar ROY G. BIV pattern will also be out of order. By assigning a unique color to each place value, the system makes mathematical operations easier for a child with dyslexia to follow, and also offers learning benefits for children with dysgraphia or a more serious math disorder called dyscalculia. The team’s colorful innovation earned them the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award.
Oklahoma Team Triumphs at Robotics Competitions (Ty Brant, 12; Anthony Maldonado, 13; Benjamin Woolen, 13; Taylor Wingo, 12; Tahlequah, OK) The Cybercats Robotics Team of the Woodall School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma has competed in and taken home trophies at a FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition, as well as the Vexpo 15 competition hosted by the Cherokee Nation Education Services and Northeastern State University College of Education. The team, represented by Ty Brant, 12, Anthony Maldonado, 13, Benjamin Woolen, 13, Taylor Wingo, 12, put their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classroom concepts to the test in these robotics competitions by designing and building a robot to compete against others in a game-based engineering challenge. By being good competitors and working collaboratively, displaying a high level of enthusiasm and passion for robotics, and enriching the event experience for others, the Wildcats were rewarded, taking home prizes at each competition.
MUD Power- Students Identify Novel Way to Clean-Up Oil and Create Energy (Kimberly Te, 16; Christine Yoo, 16; Manhasset, NY) Kimberly Te and Christine Yoo, now seniors at Manhasset Senior High School in Manhasset, New York, have been friends since the 1st Grade, and since then, both have been passionate about science. Kimberly and Christine’s National Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology Grand Prize winning project is titled “Natural, Cost-Effective Anodes for Optimized Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells: Engineering a Novel Approach to Harvesting Energy and Cleaning Up Oil-Polluted Regions.” Working from their high-school laboratory, they engineered a device, known as a microbial fuel cell (MFCs), which can produce clean energy and help clean up oil spills using natural, sustainable materials. MFCs, colloquially called “mud power,” are a developing technology that use bacteria to produce electrical energy from organic matter, like marine sediment or wastewater. Their novel design and approach uses an everyday loofah sponge—a natural and readily available material—to take the otherwise unusable oil from oil spills to generate clean energy. Kimberly and Christine found that their design significantly increases power production, effectively removes oil-spill pollution, and is highly cost-effective.
Sea Dirty Water? Wave Goodbye (Deepika Kurup, 18; Nashua, NH) Every summer Deepika Kurup, 18, and her family travel from their home in Nashua, New Hampshire, to visit India. In the United States, Deepika always had the privilege of having unlimited access to potable water, but in India, she saw children drink water that she felt was too dirty to touch. Deepika wanted to find out why these people lacked access to safe water, a substance that’s essential for life. Deepika learned that the world is facing a global water crisis and that, according to the World Health Organization, one-ninth of the global population lacks access to clean water. This unacceptable social injustice compelled Deepika to find a solution to the world’s clean-water problem—a solar-powered technology that uses silver and other materials to rapidly remove bacteria from water. Deepika’s innovation made her a finalist in the 2015 Google Science Fair and a winner of the National Geographic Explorer Award. Deepika hopes to use her creation to provide cleaner drinking water to families in India and around the world.
Teen Builds on Personal Experience to Develop Vaccine Transporter (Anurudh Ganesan, 16; Clarksburg, MD) When Anurudh Ganesan, now 16, was an infant, his grandparents walked him 10 miles to a remote clinic in India in order to receive a vaccination. When they arrived, the vaccines were ineffective due to the high temperatures and lack of refrigeration. Although Anurudh was fortunate and ultimately received the vaccination, others are not. Anurudh learned that, according to UNICEF, 1.5 million children die every year as a result of not getting the safe and effective vaccines that they so desperately need. He also discovered that ice packs used to transport vaccines can freeze the vaccines, rendering them ineffective. This inspired Anurudh, who now lives in Clarksburg, Maryland, to explore a better method of refrigerating vaccines immediately prior to use, particularly in developing countries. His creation, VAXXWAGON, can effectively transport vaccines in the last leg of distribution without the use of ice and electricity, saving potentially thousands of lives throughout the world. Anurudh’s project made him a finalist in the 2015 Google Science Fair.
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