Spirit of Innovation Awards - Clean Energy

This week I will be introducing you to the finalists of the Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Awards program. The Spirit of Innovation Awards program challenges teams of high school students to create innovative products using science, technology, and entrepreneurship to solve 21st century, real-world problems.

Starting on April 13 through 27, 2011 you can vote in "The People's Choice Award". All votes will be counted and stored in a mayonnaise jar at a secret vault in Silicon Valley until the closing awards ceremony on May 1st, 2011 at NASA Ames.

Eligible students may compete on teams in any of three Challenge Categories.

1) Aerospace Exploration

2) Clean Energy

3) Cyber Security

Design an innovative product using clean energy or increased energy efficiency or energy storage technology to improve everyday life.

The Clean Energy Challenge includes products across all clean energy technology including energy efficiency, energy storage, solar, geothermal, wind energy, biomass fuels, as well as any other renewable energy solutions.

In response to the threat of global climate change many new inventions and technologies have surfaced. Renewable energies such as wind energy and solar energy may have been around long before our warming climate reached headlines, and today they are seen as key components that can offer alternatives to our reliance on carbon emitting fossil fuels. Energy efficiency is the cheapest, cleanest and fastest energy source, yet consumers don’t often avail themselves of its benefits.

Today, cars can be fueled by ethanol made from corn, electric power can be produced from woody biomass, and houses can be heated using geothermal energy as a district heating system. Many more innovative solutions remain undiscovered. From small individual use products to large scale systems, new inventions are needed to move our planet to a sustainable future

Teams will create their own product to improve our use of sustainable energy technologies and submit their technical report describing how the product works, a business plan outlining costs and marketing concepts, and their graphic representation of the concept.

Team Air-Ease

Solar Fan: The Solar Fan will provide free cooling breezes using the power of the sun.

School:

Whitehorse High School

Team Members:

Madison Hathale

Falcon Smallcanyon

Town:

Motezuma Creek, UT

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team BEHD

Bacteria Energy Harvesting Device (BEHD)Description: The BEHD extracts energy from everyday trash and converts it into electricity.

School:

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Team Members:

George Wang

Min Cheol Kim

Town:

Alexandria, VA

More info Conrad Profile

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Team CIRPSICSR

ULTRApod: The ULTRApod is an underwater unit that uses turbines to harness hydrokinetic energy from a flowing river; electricity generated by the turbines is then used to power an ultraviolet chamber that disinfects and purifies the dirty river water. Put simply, the ULTRApod uses the river to clean the river.

School:

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Team Members:

Usnish Majumdar

Meredith Burkle

Sam Girvin

Yon (Daniel) Jang

Town:

Alexandria, VA

More info Conrad Profile

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Team Green Bacon

Solar Hybrid Lighting System: Our product uses natural sunlight to reduce the energy consumption for lighting purposes by acting as a lighting supplement.

School:

Charlottesville High School

Team Members:

Elizabeth Hylton

Joseph Hylton

Dania Jasouli

Razvan Untaroiu

Town:

Charlotesville, VA

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team Helios

Viridis: Viridis is based around the low temperature Stirling engine, utilizing the technology of a parabolic mirror. With the use of a readjustment system, as well as a generator at the end, this product will ensure maximum efficiency when producing electricity.

School:

Monta Vista High School

Team Members:

Sasikanth Kavuri

Nikhil Mallipeddi

Kadhir Manickam

Patrick Xie 

Town:

Cupertino, CA

 

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team Kinergy

Kinergy Wristband: The Kinergy Band is a mobile phone or mp3 player charger that runs purely off kinetic energy transferred while walking.

School:

Queen Elizabeth II High School

Team Members:

Andy Walker

Robbie Daniels

Atif Chohan

Angus Hopkinson

Town:

Isle of Man, British Isles

More info Conrad Profile

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Los Altos Academy of Engineering

Location Green: is a property that has the most modern green technology, including a gray water system, skylights, solar panels, wind turbines, and rain gutters.

School:

Los Altos Academy of Engineering

Team Members:

Kevin Chang

Teresa Chen

Stephanie Sosa

Town:

Hacienda Heights, CA

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team Pe-U IOM

The Pe-U concept: is a systematic design that uses innovative, eco-friendly portable toilets made from entirely recycled materials to create clean energy. These toilets are distributed in rapid production lines to both consumer festival markets and disaster zones and once the toilets have fulfilled their temporary use, they are disposed of into biodigestive systems to create clean, renewable methane fuel energy and rich organic fertilizer.

School:

St. Ninians High School

Team Members:

Sizwe Mitshali

Liam Carter-Hawkins

Town:

Isle of Man, British Isles

More inf Conrad Profile

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Team Solar Cookout

The SOLAR COOKOUT Portable Parabolic Stove: is a Large diameter parabolic dish solar concentrator capable of extremely high temperatures. It allows you to cook any food the same as you would using a burner on your stove indoors.

School:

Whitehorse High School

Team Members:

Sarah McCarl

Jonathan McCarl

Town:

Motezuma Creek, UT

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team SPEAD

SPEAD (Solar Powered Energy And Distillation): aims to generate electricity using solar heated water, while also distilling and disinfecting the water.

School:

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Team Members:

Vipul Vachharajani

Pranav Haravu

Town:

Durham, NC

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team The PAGEboys

PiezoStem: Transduction device that converts wind energy to electrical energy via piezoelectric film.

School:

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Team Members:

Erick Lee

Matt Jordan

Hyung Kwon Lee

Shichao Wu

Gary Li

Town:

Durham, NC

More info Conrad Profile

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Team West Philly EVX Team

Electric Very Light Car: West Philadelphia High School students building a market-ready electric car to set the standard for efficiency for years to come.

School:

West Philadelphia High School Auto Academy

Team Members:

Brandon Ford

Shamere Palmer

Kaya Presley

Stefon Gonzalez

Leon Johnson

Town:

West Philidelphia, PA

More info Conrad Profile  

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Team Z00mb33z

Solar Charging Kiosk: will use solar panels to maintain the charge on deep cycle lead acid batteries which will be used to charge small electronic devices like MP3 players and cell phones. The Solar Charging Kiosk will be targeted for sponsorship by soft drink manufacturers and will be shaped like a giant soda can.

School:

Whitehorse High School

Team Members:

Nikki Tenorio

Desiree Jones

Lindsey Pena

Brandon Palmer

Town:

Motezuma Creek, UT

More info Conrad Profile 

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Spirit of Innovation Awards - Finalists "Aerospace Exploration"

This week I will be introducing you to the finalists of the Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Awards program. The Spirit of Innovation Awards program challenges teams of high school students to create innovative products using science, technology, and entrepreneurship to solve 21st century, real-world problems.

Starting on April 13 through 27, 2011 you can vote in "The People's Choice Award". All votes will be counted and stored in a mayonnaise jar at a secret vault in Silicon Valley until the closing awards ceremony on May 1st, 2011 at NASA Ames.

Eligible students may compete on teams in any of three Challenge Categories.

1) Aerospace Exploration

2) Clean Energy

3) Cyber Security




Learn more about the Conrad Foundation here! Website - Previous Blog Post:


Here I am introducing to you the Finalist Teams in the Aerospace Exploration Category. The Aerospace Exploration category encompasses any products with reasonable commercial opportunity in the aerospace industry. From vehicles to spacesuits; from planetary exploration to satellites; from space medicine to Earth observation, the industry is ripe for innovation.

When asked why we need to explore space, a myriad of answers will likely be given. Everything from the need to “Save humanity from extinction,” to the simple, “because it's there.” Whatever the reason, new technologies will be needed to reach the stars. This category looks for student teams to develop products that can help move the aerospace industry forward in our exploration of, knowledge about, or experience in space.

Team: Lennox Aerospace

Space Scaffold Structure-1 (SSS-1): The SSS-1 is a innovative, simple, cost-effective space structure, it allows efficient, co-operative structures to be made in space that can have many uses. The design is made from a simple cube and cuboid interlocking design that allows quick and safe construction of space stations, space colonies, hotels or research facilities.

School:

Ballakermeen High School

Team Members:

Benjamin Chung

Luke Farrugia

Town:

Isle of Man, British Isles

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team: Morpheus

Space Sleep Pod: The sleeping pod would replace current sleeping fixtures aboard spacecrafts and provide noiselessness, comfort, lighting, and privacy towards a more effective and better sleeping experience for astronauts in space.

School:

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Team Members:

Avi Aggarwal

Amy Xie

Town:

Durham, NC

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team: MVNTHS Beta

BeIN Aptamer Implant: This implant utilizes the traits of Aptamers to inhibit the fibronectin protein to treat long-term diseases caused by exposure to microgravity.

School:

Monta Vista High School

Team Members:

Belinda Zeng

Aditi Ganppule

Alok Singh

Hung-Jen Wu

Town:

Cupertino, CA

More info Conrad Profile

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Team: Ouroboros

The Perpetual Harvest Space Nutrition System: The Perpetual Harvest Space Nutrition System takes organic waste created during a long duration space mission and turns it into compost that is then used to grow crops. These crops serve as an air filter and food supply for the crew.

School:

Upper St. Clair High School

Team Members:

Avisha Shah

Catherine Groschner

Yudi Chen

Matthew Veracchia

Brent Heard

Town:

Pittsburg, PA

More info Conrad Profile

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Team: PVA

Polyvinyl Alcohol Shield: We have developed a product, a polyvinyl alcohol polymer film, that has shown through experimentation to protect from cosmic rays and x-rays. This will ultimately help make space travel and occupation safer for astronauts, who are exposed daily to high doses of cosmic rays.

School:

Milken Community High School

Team Members:

Jenifer Brown

Alex Li

Joseph Brown 

Town:

Durham, NC

More info Conrad Profile 

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Team: STAR

Augmented Reality System: A headset that monitors vital signs, and the position of the user constantly and provides the user with that information quickly and reliably.

School:

Milken Community High School

Team Members:

Ryan Delijani

Kevin Delijani

Town: Los Angeles, CA
More info Conrad Profile 

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Team: Unis in Space

Solar Wind Power Generator: The Solar Wind Power Generator is a cost-effective, high-energy output power supply for future lunar development and deep space exploration utilizing electron flow from Solar Wind from the Sun.

School:

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Team Members:

Preston Bowes

Suqi Huang

Brian Lezzi

Calvin Xiao

Town:

Durham, NC

More info Conrad Profile 

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Beam me to the Moon! - April 10, 2011

I just have to share this with you. For several reasons!

1) this is pretty geeky-tubular! (I just learned this word today - thanks Krissy314)
An image is beamed to the Moon, bounces off the face of the old man up there, comes back and the signal gets put together again. That's almost a 500,000 mile journey.

2) Art and Science are so closely related! There is science in art and there is art in science. Not only that, but science inspires art. A perfect example is our dear friend Deirdre Kelleghan from Ireland. She does wonderful activities with kids where they get inspired by images from Little SDO, LRO and other spacecrafts and then they draw their own pictures from it. In the process they learn about the subject they are drawing.

3) This is a project by Daniela de Paulis in collaboration with Jan van Muijlwijk and CAMRAS at Dwingeloo radio telescope. But because it involves the Moon I spoke to some of my colleagues over at the NASA Lunar Science Institute and they were excited about this too. And of course we are excited because  some of the images "beamed-up and back" are a drawings of the Sun by Deirdre's students and one of Deirdre herself.

Lucy paints her artwork - inspired by Little SDO

OPTICKS is a Live Audio-Visual Radio Transmission performance between the Earth and the Moon

So I asked Daniela de Paulis a few questions about this event. But let's first meet her. Daniela, who are you?
"I am a visual artist working with film, sound, performance and new technologies. I am very interested in the dialogue between art and science, both are in fact forms of audacious and creative thinking, I believe that artists can inspire scientists and vice versa."

See? Another person who believes in the connection between science and art! Tell us, how did this project come about?

"In October 2009 I got in touch with the team of radio amateurs based at Dwingeloo radio telescope in The Netherlands, asking them to send to the moon and back images in form of radio signals as part of an art project. The enthusiastic radio amateurs’ team guided by Jan van Muijlwijk managed to do that for the first time in history by receiving colour images sent from Switzerland via the moon, using earth-moon-earth technology. The very first image sent to the moon and back was the picture of Jan's dish, however this was barely recognizable after travelling 800.000 kilometres. Following several attempts with different kinds of equipment Jan and the CAMRAS team managed to receive very good images via moon bounce."

That is truly fascinating. Why is this project called OPTICKS?

"The idea of calling the project OPTICKS was inspired by the essay written by Newton on light refraction. In OPTICKS the great scientist speaks of the seven colors of the spectrum. He also writes about the music circle in which he relates the seven colors with the musical notes and the seven celestial bodies known in his time."

I truly love this already, Daniela. This is so cool. Of course, I am trying to imagine what an image of me going and coming back from the Moon would look like. I bet I would be the first Rubber Chicken Mission Mascot to have traveled to the Moon and back. So how exactly does it work?

"OPTICKS is a live performance during which we send digital images of the seven colors of the spectrum to the moon and back. The images are sent in form of radio signals from a dish situated in Brazil, the UK or Switzerland and received back by Dwingeloo radio telescope in The Netherlands, where they are reconverted into the original images. The process of converting radio signals into images and vice versa is made possible by the MMSSTV software, invented by Japanese radio amateur Makoto Mori in 2000 as improvement of the Slow Scan Television."

I see! And how can people participate and watch this event unfold? 

"The OPTICKS performance for the Global Astronomy Month will be webstreamed live from Dwingeloo radio telescope. The event will introduce the Moon Week program which features a wide range of outreach activities aimed at scientists, astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts. With its combination of astronomy, radio technologies and art, OPTICKS aims at inspiring artists, scientists and amateurs alike. The performance for the GAM will be introduced by a live broadcast of sounds from radio amateur signals bouncing off the moon, captured by the Dwingeloo antenna. The performance will also feature pre-recorded image sonifications using Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab methods, created by sonification researcher and musician/sound designer Marty Quinn, currently collaborating with NASA."

Here is the link to OPTICKS  for April 10, viewers will need to search for the OPTICKS event:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pi9cam

Can you please introduce us to some of the people who are working on OPTICKS?

"Yes, of course, so let's start here:

Daniela de Paulis (author of the project and visual artist IT/NL) www.danieladepaulis.com
Jan van Muijlwijk (CAMRAS radio amateur, NL) www.camras.nl
Marty Quinn (sound designer, USA) www.drsrl.com
Ard Hartsuijker (CAMRAS public relations, NL)
Howard Ling (radio amateur, UK)
Bruce Halász (radio amateur, Brazil)
Deirdre Kelleghan (artist / amateur astronomer IRL) http://deirdrekelleghan.net

We are very pleased to moon bounce at the end of the performance two of Deirdre Kelleghan's paintings. Deirdre collaborated in OPTICKS by guiding young people in creating paintings inspired by images of the Solar Dynamics Observatory First Light and by Moons. We will moon bounce four of the wonderful paintings created by students of St Cronans Boys National School in Bray and Stillorgan Gold Pack Brownies in Ireland."

Thank you Daniela and now let's look at some of the images that will travel to the Moon and Back!

Liadh Farago, Age 10 - inspired by a Solar Flare as seen by NASA SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory)

Lucy Grier, age 7 - inspired by the Sun through NASA SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory)

Paul Byrne, age 6 - Crater Linne on our Moon inspired by NASA LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter)

Diarmuid Moran, age 11 - image inspired by Saturns Moon Encledus in Outburst.

Deirdre Kelleghan (acrylics and pastels on canvas, 2010), inspired by the first light images from NASA SDO
Solar Dynamics Observatory in space

Deirdre Kelleghan's Saturn/ Cassini (multimedia on canvas, 2011), inspired by the magnificent images taken of
Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft.