2002 Genesis Energy National Science & Technology Fair

The Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna was the venue selected for the Genesis Energy National Science and Technology Fair in December 2002.

28 exhibitors representing their region nationally took part along with 10 international exhibitors from Taiwan, Namibia and Brunei. Guest teachers from Shanghai and Beijing also came to observe making the 2002 Fair the largest to be held.

Over the four days some great activities were organised which included a trip to Tiritiri Matangi (wildlife sanctuary). Landcare Research also hosted the exhibitors for an afternoon where the group were shown an extensive collection of fungi and a huge collection of New Zealand insects and mites.

The award ceremony took place on Friday 13th December. The Hon Pete Hodgson spoke and presented many of the awards.

The Royal Society is very appreciative of the support the following sponsors have provided making the Genesis Energy Science & Technology Fair such a success.

• Genesis Energy (major sponsor)
• Kiwanis International and Executive Travel
• National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA)
• The Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand (IPENZ)
• The Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation (ESITO)
• New Zealand Association of Science Educators (NZASE)
• The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ)

The winners

Genesis Energy Premier Technology Award

The award includes travel and registration to either the USA Space Camp or the London Youth International Science Forum

Haydn Luckman (Age 18) Auckland Grammar School Energy From Effluent Do teenagers in your house hog all the hot water by staying under the shower too long? This is often the case in Haydn's house, but he has found a solution to the problem. He has developed a heat exchange system that recycles the heat content of warm wastewater from the shower drain to pre-heat the incoming cold water to the shower rose. The system has the effect of reducing the overall hot water draw-off because less hot water is required (from the hot water cylinder) to maintain the desired temperature for the shower. The project has encompassed the full spectrum of development from market research, design, development of a prototype, testing, analyzing results through to commercial appraisal and investigation for patenting.

Genesis Energy Premier Science Award

The award includes travel and registration to either the USA Space Camp or the London Youth International Science Forum

Fiora Au (aged 18) Diocesan School for Girls Personal Space - Allelopathy in Rhododendrons Fiora's research developed from the observation that rhododendrons have few grasses and weeds growing beneath them. Some plants produce substances that inhibit the growth of other plants, a phenomenon known as allelopathy. Firstly, Fiora carried out a series of investigations to determine the allelopathic properties of rhododendrons, compared to four other plants, on the growth of rye grass and clover. Having determined that rhododendrons did indeed inhibit the growth of these plants she investigated the effect of the age and condition of the rhododendron leaves on the allelopathic effect and also the effect of the site of application.

Genesis Energy Excellence in Technology Award

$2,500 education scholarship

Michael Calcinai (15) Taradale High School Circle of Lights When is Los Angeles Michael noticed the number of LED's used in electronic signs. He wondered if there was a way to reduce the number needed without reducing the effectiveness of the signs. Michael started with the concept of using 5 LED's on a rotating rod. After much trialling and modification and some serious computer programming, he has developed a device which does indeed use fewer LED's.

Genesis Energy Excellence in Science Award

$2,500 education scholarship

Natalie Crimp (13) Linwood College Heathcote: Eco-desert or Healthy River? Natalie investigated water quality in the Heathcote River near her home in Christchurch. She found that turbidity levels reached unacceptable levels after heavy rain. She proved conclusively that this increase in turbidity was caused by activities such as logging, crop farming and subdivision development, all activities that increased the exposure of the soil to the elements

 

Kiwanis/Executive Travel Award

Travel to the San Diego Science & Engineering Fair

 

Tina Alderton (17) Kamo High School Girdle Those Brown Fuzzies Tina set out to explore the idea that girdling kiwifruit canes has the potential to improve fruit size by trapping nutrients in the shoots. Girdling involves removing a thin layer of bark containing the phloem tubes from the cane thus preventing the return of nutrients to the trunk and roots. The process has to be done carefully as there is the danger of cutting through xylem and phloem and so cutting off the supply of essential nutrients that support the growth of the trunk and the roots. Tina's results showed that fruit size on girdled canes was on average 21.5g higher than on ungirdled canes and she believes that process should be trialled commercially.

IPENZ Travel Award

Travel to a international Science & Technology Fair

Kali Stratford (15) Marlborough Girls' College The Net Result Table tennis, the fastest ball sport in the world has become so fast that rallies have become very short. Kali's investigation is an extension of last year's work where she investigated the effect of a 2mm larger ball on slowing down the speed of the game. This year Kali investigated the effect net height has on speed of the ball, spin and rally length. She found that increasing the height of the net by up to 10cm decreased speed and spin and as a result rally length was increased, but that a greater increase than this decreased rally length. She was pleased to be able to establish such a clear optimum height.

 

NIWA Award

A $1,000 education scholarship

Hana Christenson (13) Taupo Nui-A-Tia College Nitrate Budgeting around Lake Taupo Water quality in Lake Taupo is important because the area relies on tourism. Hana investigated the level of nitrate run off from farms and found that plants do not use all the nutrients in the soil and that the unused nutrients are washed through the soil and enter the water table. She also found that wetlands can reduce the level of nitrate in the water entering the lake. Her study made her realize how land use practices can impact on natural resources.

NZASE Travel Award

An award to the value of $1,000

 

Brooke Loader (15) Manurewa High School Happy Horns Brooke plays a French Horn and was frustrated by the time needed to warm up the horn before performing. She investigated why warming the horn was necessary and found that placing a 'wheat' bag that had been warmed in the microwave inside the bell of the horn produced the ideal pitch change in almost half the usual time needed compared to blowing air into the horn.

RSNZ Technology Award

Education scholarship to the value of $1,000

 

Jessie Lineham (12) St John's Girls' School Hair Hear Increasingly we live in a world surrounded by noise. For her birthday Jessie was given a hair-dryer. The one problem with it was that it was too loud so she decided to design a silencer for it. She found that a product called acoustic beads was being developed to quieten appliances, but as it was still under development it was suggested she use puffed cereals instead. Being mindful of safety issues Jessie produced a prototype containing popcorn to cut down the noise level. Having established its effectiveness she had the device professionally made so that it would clip securely onto the back of the hairdryer with a removable top to allow access to the popcorn. She feels that there are other wide-ranging applications for this simple idea.

RSNZ James Duncan Science Award

Vonny Tarrant (16) and Natalie Miedema (17) Morrinsville College Warm, Cosy & Toxic Natalie and Vonny were concerned that the use of portable gas heaters in homes might cause carbon monoxide to rise to unacceptable levels. Using a Multi Max Monitor they found that in an average sized living room carbon monoxide levels could become dangerously high within an hour and that the level of oxygen decreased dramatically over that time.

ESITO Travel Award to the value of $1,000

Stephen Florance (18) Campion College Laser In a project that started as a hobby and has extended over many months, Stephen has attempted to design and build a high-powered laser that would cut through steel. Most of it is built from recycled bits and pieces and parts from Stephen's own electronic stockpile. He had to overcome a variety of problems to produce this final product.

Other entrants

Central Northland

Stacey Michelsen

Tilt-A-barrow

Stacey's nana is a keen gardener, but she has difficulty tipping a load out of full wheelbarrow because she has to lift the barrow really high before the contents will come out. Stacey decided to modify an existing wheelbarrow to make the process of emptying it easier for her grandmother. She altered the way in which the tray of the barrow was attached to the axle so that the barrow would tip in a two-stage process and not have to be lifted as high.

Central South Island

Mark Stewart (18) and Alain Richardt (17)

Factually free energy?

Mark and Alain set out to harness free energy from the chemical reaction involving the pulsation of mercury by the presence of iron, under acidified dichromate conditions. If harnessing this free energy was indeed possible, the economic implications would be considerable.

Far North

Michael Verhulst

Eco Engine Parts

Michael made three modifications to a standard engine so that the exhaust was cleaner and the engine would give better power and performance. Firstly, he produced an after burner that burns up to 60% of the exhaust gases and so cuts down on the pollution from the engine. Secondly he made a device to heat the fuel so that it is nearer to vapourising and it is easier to explode in the engine and lastly he produced an oil cooler that cools the oil in the engine so that it doesn't overheat, become thin and lose its effectiveness.

Manawatu

Sarah Palmer

Manawatu

Sarah set out to investigate the type of soil, vegetation and worms living in the soil on a coastal section of the Kapiti Coast. She wanted to see if applying powdered limestone would make a difference to the soil, vegetation and the worms living there.

She studied an ancient peat swamp and adjacent sand dune. Five pairs of test plots were set up, three on the peat swamp and two on a sand dune. The sites were then sampled three and six weeks later using a bulk density ring. Samples were analysed for changes in pH, and the number of worms in each of the limed and unlimed plots were counted.

Sarah concluded that lime is beneficial for the soil but it takes about three weeks for the lime to move through the soil, so when you apply lime dig it in for maximum effect. But remember not to use too much lime if you want lots of worms!

Nelson

Mat Appelman (17)

Fuel economy

Fuel economy is a very big issue in our modern society. Matt decided to investigate whether or not, there is a relationship between each gears most efficient speed, and the fuel consumption rate, and if so for what engine speed range does this relate to. There were many variables that he had to control such as friction, temperature, wind speed, tyre pressure, acceleration, speed and distance travelled, road gradient, and weight. Mat’s investigation went very well and he found that each gear’s most efficient speed is directly proportional to the fuel consumption rate. Unfortunately the optimal engine speeds in each gear relates to very low speeds. These speeds are good for built up areas, such as in residential or town streets, but are useless when it comes to open road highways, unless you’ve got all day!

North Harbour

Katherine Mitchell and Jessica May

Dying for a Cup of Tea

The Romans had lead pipes, our grandparents had lead in the house paints they used and then thirty years ago we were told lead could kill us!

Katherine and Jessica were concerned that there was traces of lead in the glazes on crockery. In order to compare the levels of lead in cups of different ages they placed teacups in vinegar for 24 hours and tested the resulting solution for the presence of lead. They developed a quantitative measure of the amount of lead present by using solutions of lead nitrate of known concentration to which a standard amount of sodium sulphide was added. The amount of light transmitted through the resulting brown sample gave a measure of the amount of lead present which they could then compare against the samples obtained from the cups.

They found that older cups (pre 1980) all contained small amounts of lead.

Otago

Thilinie De Silva

Powering on with Methanol Fuel Cells

A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electrical energy. One of their advantages is that they generate electricity with very little pollution.

Hydrogen gas is often used as the fuel, but because of its explosive nature Thilinie looked at using methanol as a fuel instead. Her fuel cell worked efficiently using 40 % methanol in aqueous solution, with air as an oxidant. She is hopeful that her study will contribute to the production of cheap, easy to manufacture, pollution-free cells.

Taranaki

Jithan Varma

The Smart Mouse

Surprised at the cost of commercial data logging equipment, Jithan set about creating his own data logger at a much reduced cost. By using Qbasic for programming, he created his "Smart Mouse" using a photogate circuit which sends a signal to a computer when a beam of light is blocked. The "Smart Mouse" can be used to measure velocity to a high level of accuracy. It is a simple inexpensive and reliable device.

Waikato

Michael Walmsley

Better Swing Bowling

In the Hamilton Twilight Cricket Competition last year Michael's team was frustrated by their inability to control the swing of the plastic coated day glow balls used in the competition. Michael decided to investigate the ideal conditions for swing and reverse swing of the balls and compare the results to studies into the swing of leather cricket balls.

Firstly, he designed an apparatus for testing for swing and reverse swing at high velocities. He then used this apparatus to test five variables: the velocity at which the ball travels, the angle of the seam, the size of the seam on the ball, the relative roughness of both sides of the ball and the type of ball.

As a result of his research Michael believes he can predict, depending on the conditions, where to aim the ball to hit the middle stump. Of course, whether his aim is true is another matter!

Wairarapa

Api Dawson

Theory of Mind

Api watched a TV programme about the ability of humans to lie. This programme outlined the Theory of Mind and how children could be tested to see if they had developed a Theory of Mind.

Api has been interested in psychology and was intrigued by this concept. Knowing the regional Science and Technology Fair was approaching, he decided to carry out his own investigation.

Api used one of the techniques shown with children from a local child-care centre and found that, on average children develop a theory of mind at about three years of age.

Waitakere

Shaun Saric-Terrill and Benjamin Wood

Pond poo or pond clear?

The Manawa wetlands are a series of 3 ponds, which were constructed in 1998. They were designed to improve the water quality of the Rewarewa Stream before it joins the Manawa stream, which flows in to the Whau River then the Waitemata Harbour.

Shaun and Ben carried out tests to determine the effectiveness of the ponds and found that although their results show that the wetlands are helping to remove the heavy metals zinc, cadmium, copper and lead from the stormwater input, E.coli bacteria are increasing, especially in the middle of the wetlands, and the number and diversity of the macro invertebrate species was also found to be low. On average the dissolved oxygen and water clarity decreases as the water goes through the ponds.

Higher water temperatures and phosphate levels were recorded in the wetlands compared to the original inflow. This may be due to the wetlands trapping sediments and organic materials, as well as being heated up by the sun.

They then used their findings to make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the ponds.

Wanganui

Ian McIntosh-Oakley

Got your Lunch?

In Ian's school there are frequently problems with the lunch ordering system that leaves students dissatisfied. Ian had an idea that would stop all this. He wanted to see lunch orders computerised.

After much research he was introduced to a program called ShopFactory v3.3. This was the most effective program he found. It let him enter the information he wanted and converted it. The only problem was that the forms could not be changed. After contacting the programs maker, he was able to change the forms to "fixed field" forms, or forms that automatically put in the information he had previously selected.

It seems that there is a large call for a program like this. It is simple, effective and fool-proof.

Wellington

Elizabeth Carr

The Physics of the Trebuchet

Around 400 years ago trebuchets were the most advanced weapon available for laying siege to a castle. For a Physics assessment project Elizabeth built a Trebuchet. The trebuchet she built was around 2 metres tall, a miniature in comparison to the real thing, but could still throw a two kilogram stone over 40m!

Her aim was to determine if it was possible to accurately predict how far the ammunition could be thrown.

She discovered that while she could get close results it was difficult to predict the distance, due to friction and a changing angle of release. However, after doing a friction loss test and she worked out the system was 80% efficient and used this to more accurately predict how far the rock would go. After theoretical calculations involving the angle of release she had a more accurate series of data to compare her field results with and in the end they were quite close. She realised that if she had been able to observe the angle of release, then, yes, she would have been able to predict how far a stone could go.