Four members of ND Energy’s Student Energy Board served as judges at the virtual Northern Indiana Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NIRSEF) on Saturday, February 26, 2022. ND Energy awarded two prizes to the junior and senior level competitors based on quality of research, knowledge of the subject matter, and relevance to energy and climate change.
Junior award winner John Gutierrez’s project “Harnessing Wind and the Powers It Beholds” demonstrated a good understanding of the importance of renewable energy and the shortcomings of implementing wind as a large-scale energy provider. His project attempted to make wind power more efficient and effective. The other junior winner was Seth Kirzeder with “Extending the Life of a Battery with a Generator.” Seth experimented with adding a generator to his remote controlled airplane in an attempt to extend its battery life. His attempt at building a hybrid model was designed to improve efficiency and conserve energy.
Judges found senior level participant Maria Revuelta’s project, “The Addition of Electron Acceptors and Hydrogen-Lowering Substances to Decrease Methane Production in Ruminants” extremely well thought-out and very thorough. She simulated the rumen of a cow's stomach using a flask containing feces and basal medium. She tested how much methane was produced by the feces, changing various variables of her experiment in order to find a replicable, consistent system. Going forward, this study could be used to study ways to reduce the amount of methane released by livestock and their emissions impact on the climate. The second senior winner, Amelia Cerney, presented “Testing the Effectiveness of Roofing Material against UV Rays.” Her work found that lighter colored, smoother roofing materials reflect more UV rays. This can be applied to houses and the energy they consume by affecting how much air-conditioning/heating is required to keep the house at a comfortable level. Amelia has ideas for how to expand her project by including more materials and testing different angles in order to make her study more robust and applicable.
Thanks to the four judges, Eva Homberger, Alexandra Sepulveda, Lucas Barreto and Michelena O’Rourke for engaging with future energy researchers at the 2022 NIRSEF competition.