ISEF 2015 projects

2015: A Photon Odyssey

In this study, I examine whether I can modify Beer Lambert’s Law to determine the average path-length of a photon that has not interacted with ordinary matter. We know that the absorption of…

3-D Electrical Cast

The purpose for this project is to create a 3-D Printer Cast and incorporate the T.E.N.S. Unit to treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and allow full arm mobility. The procedure is to first get the…

3-Dimensional Microbial Fuel Cell Anode

Worldwide access to potable drinking remains of one the “Grand Challenges for Engineering” (National Academy of Engineering). Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) may be a possible solution. MFCs, in…

3D-Printed Bluetooth Android-Based Spirometer with HIPAA-Compliant Secured Cloud Data Storage

This project identifies a novel, inexpensive approach in the development and structure of a portable, compact spirometer; merging new technology such as 3D printing, Bluetooth, Android and C…

3D Tumor Model for Testing Anticancer Drugs

Systems Software

Current cancer models in preclinical cancer drug research are not yielding effective treatments. The objective of my research was to study a simple three-dimensional (3D) spheroid method to…

3rd Phase: The Effect of Paraffin Wax in the Impermeabilization

In this work polymers and PCMs such as paraffin and modified paraffin have been used to investigate their effectiveness of waterproofing and resistance to chemicals versus commercial sealers…

4-D Printing: Creating Tessellated Foldable Structures, Year III

3-D printing allows for the creation of items in computer design programs and proceed to print them immediately. A new concept of 4-D printing has emerged that allows people to create object…

A Biomimetic Non-Planar Approach to Reducing Induced Drag from Trailing Vortices

Second Award

Aviation-generated emissions from hydrocarbon fuel combustion account for approximately 3.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Current wingtip devices seek to lower induced drag from…

AC-COOL, the Key to a New Green Process for Making Biodegradable Bioplastic from Agricultural By-products

A “green process” including two main stages (i) hydrolysation of agricultural by-products (ABP) into fermentable sugar (ii) fermentation of sugar into bioplastics, was established to use ABP…

Acidification: Testing the Effect of Our Ever Changing Environment on Our Oceans and Marine Life

Our oceans are a precious natural resource, part of Earth's carbon cycle. Each and every day the oceans absorb approximately 1/3 of the carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere. Because our…

A Comparative Study on Natural Pesticides for Potatoes

Purpose: To compare the effects of commercial and natural pesticides on the growth and sugar content of Red Norland Potatoes and White Pearl Potatoes. Secondly, to determine the efficacy of…

A Computer-Based Integrated Analysis of Genomic Signatures in Ovarian Cancer

Biomedical Engineering

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynecological cancers as a result of a lack of robust early detection methods and high rates of resistance after initial chemotherapy. Many experiments…

A Computer Controlled Low Cost Indoor Airborne Formaldehyde Removing System by Electrolysis of Common Salt Water

More than 10,000 people die of formaldehyde pollution of indoor air every year in China. However, existing commercial solutions to this problem have drawbacks, such as low efficiency and hig…

A Computer Model to Project the Outbreak of Agrilus planipennis in New Hampshire

The purpose of this experiment was to create a computational model to project the path of the current outbreak of Agrilus planipennis (emerald ash borer) in New Hampshire. Each model is base…

Activating the Latent Energy for People with Visual Needs

Biomedical and Health Sciences

The Purpose of the Experiment The project targets the visually impaired and blind. It aims to develop their skills of learning and psychological adaptation using internal energy through focu…

Activation of Pro-Inflammatory Genes Suggests Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern (PAMP) Component in Giardia lamblia Recognized by the Murine Innate Immune System

Preventable and treatable diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old in the world, killing approximately 760,000 children each year. Diarrheal di…

Activation of the Hepatocyte Antioxidant Response by Kava Secondary Metabolites

Although used by Pacific Islanders for thousands of years, Kava hepatotoxicity has been a concern. The purpose of this project was to determine which of the Kava secondary metabolites activa…

Actuation of a Reconfigurable Shape Memory Alloy Airfoil during Stages of Flight for a Commercial Aircraft

In commercial aviation any change that makes an aircraft even 0.1% more efficient saves the company money when multiplied by the number of aircraft used. The purpose of this experiment was t…

ADDIE: a Website for Simplifying Cryptocurrency Addresses

Due to the increasingly prevalent money problems in the world today,cryptocurrency was invented. It allows people to send money of any amount to anyone anywhere at any time without a central…

A Device for the Tracking of At-Home Medical Equipment during Natural Disasters

Electrical durable medical equipment (DME), such as dialysis machines, patient monitoring devices, and ventilators, are life-sustaining machines that are used extensively by patients at home…

Adhesive Elastin-based Proteins as Soft-tissue Surgical Glues

Developing a viable soft tissue adhesive can eliminate the needs for sutures, which often cause further tissue damage in clinical settings. Adhesives that demonstrate biocompatibility, funct…

Advancements in Drug Delivery: Development and Evaluation of Ibuprofen Loaded Biodegradable Hydrogels

Biomedical Engineering

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, effective in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. This research aims to develop a biodegradable and in situ forming…

Advancing Energy Storage Materials through the Development of Quasi-Aligned Graphene Fibers with Enhanced Thermal and Electrical Conductivities

In the realm of materials science, novel graphene fibers exhibit a higher thermal conductivity than many other common metals such as copper or aluminum. Graphene fibers can therefore effecti…

Advancing the Cancer Stem Cell Approach for Early Tumorigenesis: Delineation of p53 Pathways in Differentially Expressed Tumor-Initiating Cells

Translational Medical Science

Evidence suggests a small population of tumor-initiating cells, or cancer stem cells, drive tumor heterogeneity which is postulated to account for tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy…

Advancing Western Blotting: Improving the Sensitivity of Protein Detection with Smaller Well Engineering

Western Blotting is one of the most fundamental laboratory techniques used for identifying specific proteins and semi-quantifying protein amounts. As powerful and developed as the procedure…

Aetiology of 'Bleeding Canker' Disease of Horse Chestnut Trees

Second Award

‘Bleeding Canker’ is a disease of Horse Chestnut trees (Aesculus hippocastanum) identified throughout North-West Europe since 2002. The infection, first identified in Ireland in 2011, causes…

A Functional, Inexpensive Bionic Hand with Feelings

Modern technology and especially bionics has come a long saying recent years. Unfortunately these devices are still extremely expensive and require extensive customization. These factors com…

A Further Exploration of Bacterial Divisional Factors with Regards to Genome Size

This year we continued in the exploration of the correlation between prokaryotic genome size and the rate at which the bacteria is able to undergo binary division. The specific goal being, t…

A Generalisation of the Determinant to Rectangular Matrices: Implications in Gauge Theory

The determinant is an operator on square matrices, such that the determinant of any square matrix yields a scalar. There exist a few generalisations to non-square matrices, such as the geome…

A Genetic Mechanism Underlying Bacterial Drug Resistance: Ampicillin Resistant Escherichia coli

This experiment is about research that identified the process by which bacteria develop drug resistance. Seven generations of Escherichia coli were bred to be resistant to ampicillin. (Note…