SSP Alumnus Micah Toll Builds on his Intel ISEF Experience in Pittsburgh

SSP Alumnus Micah Toll with his PEVO

Micah Toll (DCYSC 2000, 2002; Intel ISEF 2006 and 2007; STS 2007 semifinalist) invented a building material that could revolutionize the way we build buildings. He recently shared his thoughts on Intel ISEF, his project, and what he is up to now at the University of Pittsburgh.

 

What are your memories of Intel ISEF?
I attended two [Intel] ISEFs, the 2006 in Indianapolis and the 2007 in Albuquerque. Both were incredible experiences for me in terms of shaping me as a scientist and engineer. The ISEF is an almost overwhelming collection of the brightest students in the world, each sharing their own specific research and fields of study. While I enjoyed viewing the other projects in my category of Engineering, I also loved walking around the other categories and learning about things I never knew existed. Students my age were doing research in every possible field imaginable and it was such an amazing experience to get to see all of this intellectual capital brought together in one place.

 

Oh, and being at trackside for the qualifying for the 2006 Indianapolis 500 wasn't too bad either...

 

Can you tell me a little bit about your project?
For my project I worked on research and development of a portable construction beam that could be used to build life-saving, rapid deployment shelters for remote areas of the world. The idea was to design a new type of material that could be quickly and easily shipped all over the world after natural disasters or used in refugee situations. My solution was a new type of construction beam made of plastic and foam that was light enough for children to use, easy enough to cut and build with so that it didn't require power tools, but could support thousands of pounds. I eventually founded a R&D company, Disaster Rebuilding Solutions, to continue work on the beams.

 

How has doing research when you were young affected your career trajectory?
It has defined my career trajectory and helped me to be a better engineer. I work with fellow engineers all day, and have found that many engineering students these days have made it through their education without learning or utilizing the scientific method. This means they are often missing important results because they haven't learned how to structure their experiments. By doing research when I was young I was able to learn valuable skills that have helped me to better comprehend and analyze my own engineering innovations by ensuring that I can control variables and really understand what my experiments and data are telling me.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about what you are up to now?
I recently founded an electric vehicle startup, Pulse Motors, with two of my classmates from the University of Pittsburgh. We are currently manufacturing a fleet of the first vehicle we have designed, the two wheeled Personal Electric Vehicle Zero, or PEV0, as we like to call it. The vehicle is similar to an electric motorcycle but with functional pedals that allow someone to pedal it as well, if they wish. We are building vehicles here in Pittsburgh and seeking funding to expand our operations and continue R&D on our next generation vehicle slated for release in 2013.

 

Final thoughts:
I think the biggest benefit I've had from [my] early scientific and engineering background is how to think outside the box and be creative. Sometimes things simply don't work; that's life. Those who know how to adapt their procedures or find creative ways to solve problems and fix experiments are innovators in every sense of the word and have the skills to be very successful at what they do. I never take for granted that I had great teachers, mentors, and parents that taught me the value of science, technology, and education from a young age and have helped me to achieve the success I have today.

 

• Get involved with the Intel ISEF 2012 in Pittsburgh
• Learn more about the SSP Alumni Program

 

Eleven SSP Alumni are Celebrated as 2011 Davidson Fellows

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development recently honored the 2011 Davidson Fellows, eleven of who are SSP alumni. The Fellowship awards $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000 scholarships to people under the age of 18 who have contributed a significant piece of work in the fields of Mathematics, Science, Literature, Music, Technology, and Outside the Box.   The Fellows were  honored at a reception in Washington, DC on October 5.  

 

The SSP alumni who received this prestigious honor are listed below:

 

• Arjun Aggarwal (DCYSC 2005, 2006, 2007; SSP MSP 2008; Intel ISEF 2010, 2011) 
• Matthew Bauerle (DCYSC 2005, 2006, 2007; SSP MSP 2008) 
• Marian Bechtel (Intel ISEF 2010, 2011) 
• Benjamin Clark (Intel STS 2011, Intel ISEF 2011) 
• Siddhartha Jena (Intel ISEF 2010, 2011) 
• Sunil Pai (Intel STS 2011, Intel ISEF 2010) 
• Rebecca Chen (Intel ISEF 2011) 
• Jayanth Krishnan (Intel ISEF 2010, 2011)
• Anirudh Prabhu (Intel ISEF 2011
• Shalini Ramanan (Intel ISEF 2010, 2011)
• Raja Selvakumar (Intel ISEF 2010, 2011)

 

Learn more about these alumni and the other 2011 Davidson Fellows.

The Science Fair Girl

Bethany Vitaris learning to weld at an SSP middle school program in 2001

By Caitlin Jennings, Communications Specialist, Society for Science & the Public 

 

Bethany Vitaris (SSP Alumna: DCYSCS 2001, Intel ISEF 2004) is the Science Fair Girl.  “I’ve always been really passionate about science fairs,” she says. Thanks to science competitions, Bethany learned to weld, built roller coasters, and met young scientists from across the world. Science fairs also inspired her to pursue both bachelors and masters degrees in engineering.  Due to her high school experience doing research, she also received a research and development internship in college.

 

“I’ve always felt that a lot of the opportunities that I’ve had have been because of my participation in science fairs, and I wanted to pass that on to other people,” Bethany says. That’s why, in 2005, after tutoring younger students on their science fair projects, she pulled her resources together and posted them on http://sciencefairgirl.com/.  The site has free lessons and tips to help students start their own research project. 

 

Bethany Vitaris in front of her science fair project junior year of high school

“I’m constantly working on [the site],” Bethany says. “It’s definitely a huge passion of mine.” She is currently putting together a new workbook, based on her own thoughts and the experiences of her parents, to help parents help their kids. “One of the biggest things that parents have trouble with is finding that line between helping and doing it for them, or trying to get the child to want to do it themselves,” Bethany says.

 

Finding the right project can make all the difference. Bethany recently spoke to a mom whose son was dreading doing his required science fair project.  Bethany talked to her about different ideas for projects, ideas that might spark his interests.  The mom talked to her son and let Bethany know that one idea excited him so much he just took off with it. “He’s running with it and [his mom] doesn’t really have to do anything.”

 

• •Visit Science Fair Girl
• •Read an SSP blog where Bethany reflects on being at an SSP competition in DC in the aftermath of 9/11
• •Learn about the SSP Alumni Program

Remembering the Fall 2001 SSP Middle School Competition

Ten years ago, on September 10, 2001, SSP notified the 40 finalists of the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge to let them know their hard work had paid off and they would be coming to Washington, DC, to meet the other finalists and share their impressive science projects with the community. The next day’s events spurred uncertainty as to whether the event would still happen. But all 40 finalists[C.J.1]  and their parents decided, even amidst the heightened security levels, that it was important to come. Here are some of their recollections on the event, as well as a journal entry from finalist week.

 

 

Bethany Vitaris (SSP Alumna: DCYSCS 2001, Intel ISEF 2004)

I remember the time before DYSC being full of apprehension and confusion. No one knew what was going on; a lot of people were asking my parents if they would even let me go. Traveling was scary too. Security was at an all time high. Lines through security were two hours long, you had to show ID at security and to board the plane, and once on the plane you could not leave your seat for the first 30 minutes or last 30 minutes. On top of that, soldiers were standing watch with AK47s - which for a girl who'd only seen guns on TV before was definitely a new experience.

Once we arrived at DCYSC the only words I can use are whirlwind and exceptional. For most of us, this was our first exposure to the media, and most of us had our progress followed by our home news teams - camera crews, radio interviews, and print articles, it was a regular three ring media circus. I can tell you it was quite the ego-boost for a young teen! I can understand why we were all such great news stories; we represented hope for the future in a time of fear.

On a more personal and important note, I'll always remember the people from DYSC. We were split into teams to compete during the day, but in the evenings, we'd congregate wherever we could find space. It started in hotel rooms, then spilled over to elevator lobby areas. Well you can imagine that a group of tweens in a hotel lobby can get rather loud - so the hotel found an empty ballroom for us to take over. We'd meet in the ballroom every night, and just hang out. One of the contestants sent his dad to radio shack for an adapter to plug one of our Walkman into the stereo system and share our music.

DCYSC was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life. I still stay in contact with many of the competitors of that year. I look for those updates on important life events. In the last 10 years we've gone to college, some of us have gotten married, and we tragically lost one of our own. I think we all took those highs and lows to heart - these were our friends.

 

 

 

Robin Vitaris (Bethany’s mom)

It was a very special time for all of us. I still remember the Congress fleeing DC just as we were flying into the city, those exploding manhole covers (not terrorist related, but scary nonetheless), all of the museums being strangely empty...no lines, no waiting... And, our children taking over an unused hotel ballroom and sending the dads out with a detailed list of stuff to get at Radio Shack which they needed to hijack the sound system in the room (got to love those geek kids) just so they could all be together in the evenings.  

I was actually interviewed by a major news organization....don't remember if it was 60 minutes, 20/20, or something similar when we arrived in DC.  Sad to say, the news program went with a story on a school that cancelled their field trip after 9/11 rather than all of us, and, I will always feel so proud, because it was ALL of us who flew into DC in the wake of that awful day. I remember the elation of that phone call which made my child a finalist and then all of the horror that followed.

Journal entry from Kathleen A. Bethel, mom of Liz Baker (SSP Alumna: DCYSCS 2000, 2001, 2001; Intel ISEF 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006; Intel STS 2006 semifinalist)

ENTRY DATE: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2001

DAY OF LIZ”S FORMAL SPEECH

When I awoke this morning, I wondered. If I were 13 years old and had to give a speech that would decide a Science Scholarship in front of a panel of judges, what could anyone say or do that would help? Most likely nothing... except for saying that I had permission to go home, immediately!

But I’m a mom. I had to do something.

Then I looked out my window and I had it. Rather than staying cooped up, practicing in a hotel room, we could escape.

Here we were in Washington DC, only a few weeks after the September 11^th tragedies.

What else could we do but appreciate just being alive.

Our small problems were nothing compared to so many in the world, both now, and in the past.

Just four blocks away stood the Lincoln Memorial.  It is there that we would spend our morning.

Walking up to the imposing figure of Abraham Lincoln, we felt rather small and unimportant. As we stood on the great marble steps, Liz gasped and realized, “This is where Martin Luther King gave his famous speech!”  The resounding echoes of his words still rang all around us. 

We sat in the shadow of Lincoln and King. The spirit of King watched as Liz scratched in last minute changes to her speech and underlined words to emphasize. And Lincoln, himself, sat unmoving, listening as Liz settled down to re-read her speech yet another time. An hour passed.

When Liz was finally done, she took a long look around. There under her very feet, was the step where Martin Luther King had dreamed.  To her right, etched now in stone, was the once-doubtful Emancipation Proclamation. And to her left was the gray ghost of the wall for the Vietnam Veterans whose dreams were cut too short. We could only imagine if all this, and so many more of our monuments and our people, had been destroyed a few short weeks ago. When Liz finally turned to look at me, I knew she understood our reason for coming.

“Mom, it doesn’t really matter how perfect I am today, does it? It’s what I am going to do with the rest of my life that matters.”

Through blurry eyes, I reached to hug her. She had just been proclaimed a winner.

Thirty Exciting Calls

 “Wow.”

 

“Oh my gosh!”

 

“I’m very honored.”

 

“Yay!

 

“That’s pretty awesome.”

 

“Thank you so much.”

 

“I’m speechless.”

 

These are some of the things Society for Science & the Public staff, along with Broadcom Foundation Executive Director Paula Golden, heard last night when they called the Broadcom MASTERS finalists to let them know they had been selected. The students were chosen based on their science fair project and an application to the MASTERS™ (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars), a national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) competition for sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

 

Even though the calls disrupted activities, such as one nap and another shopping trip, the finalists were happy to hear the news.  They were very excited, and often surprised, to learn they had been selected from the 300 semifinalists and would be competing in the nation’s capitol next month for a top prize of $25,000.

 

As one finalist said, “I can’t wait to go to Washington!”

 

• See a list of the 30 Broadcom MASTERS finalists
• Learn more about the Broadcom MASTERS,

 

Broadcom Foundation Helps Ignite Middle Schoolers’ Scientific Imaginations

“We believe that middle schoolers make a critical decision as to whether they will stay with or step away from science and math courses in high school,” says Paula Golden, Executive Director of the Broadcom Foundation.

 

In order to impact decision making by middle school students at this pivotal point in their lives when career paths are set in motion, Broadcom Foundation teamed up with SSP to create the Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars). The competition is for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students who compete at SSP-affiliated science fairs throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Students are nominated to compete in the national competition, which Broadcom Foundation believes will inspire students to stay engaged in science and math as they go forward.

 

The Broadcom Foundation board has generously provided over $6 million in philanthropic support to SSP as the sponsor of Broadcom MASTERS through 2016 because they know how important it is to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers. Golden says, “Broadcom is a young, highly innovative company that relies on the intellectual capital of brilliant engineers who have enabled the company to rise as a Fortune 500 company in less than 20 years. Companies like Broadcom have both a vested and national interest in seeing more young people enter the science and engineering fields.”

 

Paula adds that Broadcom is excited to work with SSP as Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor was a Semifinalist in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, a program of SSP, and Paula herself spent her middle school years engaged in project-based learning with “Things of Science,” mail-order science kits that SSP produced from 1943-1989. Now they are on the other end, fostering a program that will help today’s youth stick with science and math in order to reach their potential. The focus on middle school students is especially important as Broadcom’s co-founder, Henry Samueli, became excited about engineering when he built a vacuum-tube short-wave radio in seventh grade. Paula says that she hopes “middle school students participating in science fairs around the country will strongly consider pursuing math and science into high school and beyond.”

 

From Blue Spinach to Cancer Treatments, SSP Helped Shree Bose Get There

Shree Bose

By Caitlin Jennings, Communications Coordinator, Society for Science & the Public

 

When Shree Bose was in third grade, she thought of a way to help her peers eat their veggies.  For a science project, she injected blue food coloring into spinach plants. “Because, for some reason, I thought if children saw that vegetables weren’t green, they’d want to eat it,” she says. “Yep, that didn’t work, we killed the spinach plant, and I brought in a dead spinach plant to school.”

 

Despite this early setback, she continued with science fair projects through elementary school and, by middle school, had a really good idea.  She mixed metal with plastic to try to get a substance with the same weight and density as lead, but that was more environmentally friendly.  It worked; however, the substance she used, tungsten, was very expensive.  So, the next year she combined plastic with granite powder to get a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly material that could be used for things such as railroad ties and outdoor furniture.  That project won her awards and a spot at the SSP Middle School Program in 2008.

 

“It was one of those programs that just really, it just changes your life,” Shree says. “When I went to SSP I saw all of these kids who were my age.  They were 14, and they were working in college labs and they were working on these incredible projects that had such amazing implications.”  She had already decided she wanted to be a medical researcher, because of how cancer had affected both of her grandfathers, but it was her experience with SSP that inspired her to start conducting medical research in high school. “You just make these amazing friends who are doing these amazing things, and it just inspires you to do even better than what you’re doing right now.”

 

For the last two years, Shree has collaborated with a professor and Ph.D. students at the University of North Texas Health Science Center on possible cancer treatments. Specifically, she is working on inhibiting an energy protein, AMP kinase, in ovarian cancer cells to see if that improves the effects of a chemotherapy drug called cisplatin on deaths of sensitive cells versus resistant cells.  

 

Last year, she researched a cancer drug called Taxol that works by stiffening microtubules and therefore preventing cancer cells from replicating.  However, some cells are resistant to the drug and she found out they were using a process called autophagy (digesting its own organelles) to survive and, essentially, wait out the treatment.  Once the treatment was over, the cells continued to replicate, causing a relapse in breast cancer patients. Her research suggested combining Taxol with an autophagic inhibitor would help improve the effectiveness of the treatment.

 

She advises students in elementary and middle school who are interested in science to persevere through setbacks. “It takes a lot of power to keep yourself going, and it’s one of the most important characteristics you can have as a scientist,” she says. “Even if you fail something 20 times in a row, you have to try it again, and maybe the 21st time you’ll get something interesting and it will be a breakthrough.”

 

• Learn about SSP’s new middle school program, the Broadcom MASTERS
• Receive monthly SSP alumni updates by signing up for the SSP Newsletter
• Support science by joining SSP

 

What are you saying about SSP?

As we usher out 2010 and look toward 2011, Society for Science & the Public has much to celebrate.  For example we were rated a “great nonprofit” by Great Nonprofits, an organization that calls itself the “Zagat Guide for Nonprofits”. Perhaps more important than this welcome external recognition is the appreciation that SSP has received from people like you, people who have been part of our important work.  Here is a sampling:

 

• “The opportunities that I have been given as a direct result of the Society for Science & the Public are countless and immeasurable. On top of being the absolute cornerstone of my resume for everything from pre-collegiate programs, to college applications, to now medical school applications; just mentioning that I participated in the event has opened so many doors for me. As a direct result, I was granted two full-time paid internships by NOAA and offered a $50,000 scholarship to college.” – SSP alumnus


• “This program has enabled our school (having the highest poverty rate in our state, 91%) to go from having zero students competing in science competitions to Regional Science Fair Small School of the Year.” - SSP Teacher Fellow


• “This organization does for science what the Olympics do for sport. Actually, even more -- because sports in this country already receive lots of attention. It stimulates and provides a platform for academically oriented students to stretch their intellects and contribute to scientific knowledge.” – Parent


• "I use Science News in my classroom, not just for the news articles but to teach my students how to write.” – High School Teacher
• “SSP not only inspires greatness, but encourages and nurtures it.” –  Volunteer Judge


• “Today's high school curriculum is often limited to the tedium of learning material for standardized tests. But many of the programs SSP offers give students a chance to taste what real science is all about and a chance to be recognized for it.” – SSP alumnus


• "5.0 out of 5 stars. Excellent content, rendered wonderfully for the Kindle” – Science News subscriber on Kindle


• “Through their work, ongoing since the 1940s, they have opened the doors for generations of technical innovators.” – Parent


• "I teach at a rural pre-K through 12th school with fewer than 300 students. The Society for Science and the Public Fellowship I received has transformed my classroom. Not only do we now have a student research group that meets after school to work on projects, but we also have a junior high and high school robotics team for the second year. Thank you SSP for all you do for students and science!" – SSP Teacher Fellow


• “Every year I am amazed anew at what a wonderful experience this is for high school students. I love to take students to ISEF for the first time and see their jaws drop when they walk into the exhibit hall!” – Science Fair Director


• “[Our son’s] experiences have also inspired both of his younger siblings to become involved in science fairs primarily due to what has been provided with SSP.” – Parent

Certainly, these reviews serve as inspiration as we at SSP dedicate new efforts to expanding our impact in 2011. This expansion will include the re-launch of Science News for Kids, the introduction of a national science fair to middle schools in the United States, and expanding the Intel ISEF to reach new countries around the world.

We hope that these messages inspire you, too … perhaps to join SSP, to share your own thoughts on Great Nonprofits, or to provide a year- end, tax-deductible gift in support of our work to come in 2011. Your support will enable the Society to further our reach to students, teachers, and the science-minded public in the New Year and years to come.  

 

Alumna Ana Roda, Charter Member of SSP

Ana Roda was a participant in SSP’s Discovery Middle School Program in 2003 and 2004 (pictured next to her 2004 project), and a Finalist in the Intel STS in 2008. Her senior project examined the environmental impact on the water quality of two streams near a nuclear power reactor. She is now concentrating in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard.

 

“I think science is so important,” she says, but she is concerned about how few other people also appreciate science. “I’m majoring in science in college now and I think a lot of people are deterred from majoring in science, which is really sad.” She thinks people can be turned off when they perceive it as too hard and not interesting. “I think the way people are taught science a lot of the time focuses too much on little technicalities or memorizing rather than just how overall cool a lot of science is.”

 

This is part of the reason that Roda recently reconnected with SSP, offering herself as a volunteer and becoming a member of the Society: she had had a great experience with science research, especially through SSP’s programs. “Anything that encourages people to stay in science is a good thing, and something that is worth doing.”

 

• Learn more about the SSP Alumni Program