Michael Rosenthal

(12/2018) I recently attended the Mother Seton School STEM Fair, on which I have reported several times before. The STEM Fair, for students in grades 3 through 8, was every bit as remarkable as it has been in the past. The students presented the results of their projects by including in their presentations a hypothesis, the materials utilized, the procedures undertaken, their observations, the data obtained, and the conclusions drawn from their study. The journal in which they recorded their observations was presented along with information boards outlining the experiment or study.

The students were mentored by Danielle Kuykendall, the Mother Seton Science teacher who directs this program along with other Mother Seton staff members. Ed Hatter, who had previously served in the capacity, served as a mentor to the students. If any of you readers would like to serve as a student mentor in the future, please contact Ms. Kuykendall at Mother Seton. Judges at the STEM Fair include: Edison Hatter, coordinator, Dr. Lisa Simmons, Tres Kelly, Lee Hand, Jose Ramirez, Zoram Kahnic, Jaime Orndorff, Ron Albaugh, Mike Hillman, Daniel Zurawski, Anna Martin, Caroline Mullineaux, Alex Wivell, Brody Holz, Neoline James, and Like Szukalski. The procedure followed by the students for their presentations is modeled upon that which is used in achievement of undergraduate and graduate college degrees. There were approximately 100 students’ projects presented.

Here are the winners in each grade along with the title of each First Place research project.

Third Grade: Ellie Rajaski – What Affects The Ripening of Bananas? In second place is Catalina Caretti.

Fourth Grade: Jacob Marron – Does Air Pressure Affect Our Weather? Jacob constructed a barometer to measure the impacts. In second place is Emma Simmons, third place is Sarah Simmons, and Jillian Jurchak earned an Honorable Mention.

Fifth Grade: Ben Hochschild – Does The Shape and Size of a Turbine Blade Affect Its Efficiency? In second place is Kyle Kauffman, and tied in third place are Fin Taylor and Maryn Rajeski.

Sixth Grade (two winners): Carli Mazaleski – How Acids Affect the Rate of Corrosion; and Brady Koenig - Strength to Fight Chemo – a response to his father’s cancer treatment. In second place is Taylor Johnson, in third place is Faith Collins, and Honorable Mention was earned by Connor Jessup and Aidan Shranatan.

Seventh Grade: Sophia Launchi – Gum and Concentration – The Chewy Truth. In second place is Julia Wivell and Clytie Pavlovic. In third place is Danica Ramberg and Honorable Mention was awarded to Emily Flynn and Zoe Dougherty and to Wyatt Hill and Santiago Canada-Fraga.

Eighth Grade: Helen Hochschild and Annika Guenther – Do Cats Have a Paw Preference? In second place is Mackenzie Orndorff. In third place is Brendan Guinan, and Honorable Mention went to Carter Loher.

No Grand Champion was designated this year.

As I walked through the room viewing the fascinating presentations, I chatted with some of the students who were present at the time. The level of scientific understanding of their work was remarkable. I couldn’t help but think of my own development as a scientist. In a very good grade school, I never had any stimulation of this sort. It was actually my senior year of high school where I was stimulated to choose a career in science. Even though not all of these students will choose a career in science, they will develop an intelligent understanding of scientific issues by participating in such an excellent approach to science as one finds at Mother Seton School.

In addition to the winners, I found a number of other projects on topics that were very interesting. Here are a few of those:

What Wives Tale Works Best To Not Make You Cry While Cutting An Onion? Kiernan Myles

Does Sleeping Near Phones At Night Affect Your Health? Ripleigh Maring

Multiplication of Worms By Feeding Different Foods. Danica Ramberg

Do Rabbits Have A Food Preference? Emily Flynn and Zoe Dougherty This project won a 7th Grade Honorable Mention, as noted above.

Some students chose projects that are more engineering related:

Blender Bike Rack. Brendan Guinan, the third place eighth grader, created a "Blender Bike Rack". This was a bicycle with a blender mounted on it that can "make a milkshake, a smoothie, instant breakfast, and more, all while riding your bike."

Lucky, The Dancing Robot by Vincent Reaver.

Let’s consider now some updates in topics we’ve discussed in previous Real Science articles.

Those of us who worry about progress in science have some reassurance, as Congress passed and President Trump signed some science budgets for 2019. Budgets were approved for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD) Science and Technology and Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and Energy Programs. These approvals represent five of the 12 science agency budgets for 2019. The remaining agencies remain at 2017 levels for the time being. The NIH increase was supported by both parties in Congress and is $2 billion, the fourth in a row for NIH. The DOD increase was 7.6% to $16 billion, and the DOE Office of Science saw a 5.2% increase to $6.6 billion. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy received a 3.6% increase to $366 million. Congress, even before the elections, has been strong supporters of energy in these categories. Environmental agencies, such as EPA, are more at risk, as the debate over environmental impact continues. Do you believe in global warming? I, like the great majority of scientists, do believe in it.

Our son-in-law and daughter just purchased a new electric car, a Tesla, and we received a drive in it. Wow, talk about innovative. It is so different from anything on the road now. Henry Ford wouldn’t believe it. What is so striking to me is how quiet and smooth it is, and how the control panel looks so different from anything I’ve ever seen in my driving experience. The next step in this evolution of innovation is the development of an electric airplane. Yes, an electric airplane! At least 14 electric aircraft are in development, including the single-seat Kitty Hawk Flyer and Wright Electric’s 150 seater. The closest to readiness for "takeoff" is The Alice, a nine-seater from an Israeli starter company named Eviation. It has three propellers, two of them on the wingtips and one on the plane’s tail. The battery is rather large – 4.2 tons, 60 percent of the plane’s total weight. Eviation’s hope is that the plane will be in service for regional commuter flights as soon as 2022.

California continues its innovative strategy in energy production; they have made a strong commitment to offshore energy production. You may recall that we have previously mentioned that there has been a significant negative reaction to offshore turbines on the east coast, as many citizens find them aesthetically unpleasant. Even so, The University of Maine, with a $40 million grant from The Department of Energy, has developed a floating wind turbine platform, and hopes it will power 8,000 to 14,000 homes by 2021. In progressive California, a state that is committed to going 100% renewable, people are friendlier to the idea. There is, however, a legitimate concern about the potential impact on birds, fisheries, and marine mammals, and continuing study is underway.

The plan is to enable utility companies to lease waters in Central and Northern California for wind projects. If all goes as planned these floating windmills could be up and running, producing power within six years. One of the problems to overcome is the depth of the water there, and thus the difficulty in anchoring the turbines. A new technology, developed and tested in Europe, is expected to overcome that problem. California has committed by law to be fully dependent on carbon-free electricity by 2045!

Michael is former chemistry professor at Mount. St. Marys

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